December 21, 2016
Jaguar's next class of Women in the Know students
British automaker Jaguar is opening the door for female students interested in engineering through educational programming.
Jaguar’s “Young Women in the Know” program gives female students between 15 and 18 years of age insight into engineering and manufacturing. The four-day program acts as precursor to the automaker’s apprenticeships with more than 90 young girls participating.
Driving toward STEM
During the four-day Young Women in the Know Jaguar will invite female students to tour its design and manufacturing facilities to gain a sense of the brand. The students will also network with female Jaguar employees.
Young Women in the Know will also spend a day concentrating on work placement with a female mentor and pinpoint workability skills, resume writing and mock interviews.
Jaguar will host the program at five of its Jaguar Land Rover Education Business Partnership Centers in the Midlands and Merseyside, Britain.
"Jaguar Land Rover has grown tremendously, and to continue to pioneer new products and focus on engineering excellence, we are passionate to welcome diverse talent from across the globe," said Nick Rogers, executive director, product engineering at Jaguar Land Rover in a statement. "The whole automotive industry is facing a shortfall of engineers, and for Jaguar Land Rover, encouraging more girls and women to consider a career in engineering is a vital part of addressing this shortage.
"We've seen our female engineering workforce grow from 9 percent to 11 percent over the past four years due to our initiatives such as Young Women in the Know and our Women in Engineering undergraduate sponsorship scheme, and it's great to see these programs are helping us attract more female talent to our business," he said.
Students at Young Women in the Know learning about robotics
Since Young Women in the Know’s 2012 launch at Jaguar’s Solihull plant, 42 participants have continued on at the automaker as apprentices.
The automaker industry has a strong educational and apprenticeship focus. A number of auto brands have also worked to encourage female participation in STEM education.
In 2015 for example, British automaker Aston Martin looked to close the gender gap in engineering by teaming up the Royal Air Force to introduce female students to various career routes.
Automakers employ large amounts of people and oftentimes have a positive impact on local communities, a dynamic that burnishes their reputations with a humane aspect. This mild form of activism will help Aston Martin stand out in a field of admired employers (see story).
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