The very first Masters student graduated, on Tuesday 14th July, at the University of Warwick from a technology programme which trains staff from across Jaguar Land Rover. From the shop floor to senior managers, and from all disciplines, the Technical Accreditation Scheme (TAS) is designed to develop employees skills to help create the next generation of vehicles and staff across Jaguar Land Rover, have now completed over 200,000 hours of study in the new programme.

Through 2014 Jaguar Land Rover students clocked up approximately 66,000 hours of class room training plus 135,000 hours of private study. The programme is designed for staff to take as many of the 80 modules as they wish, which can lead to the completion of an MSc. Howard Freeman is the very first MSc graduate from the TAS programme. Howard is an Electrical Integration Engineer who lives in Leamington and works in Jaguar Land Rover’s Electrical, Electronic & Software Engineering department in Gaydon. He completed 8 modules and a project ‘Novel New Product Development under a Time Pressured Schedule’ to be awarded his MSc in Automotive Technology.

Howard said: "The scheme has expanded my knowledge and understanding while simultaneously building strong links between academia and industry. I would strongly recommend it to colleagues."

Jo Lopes, Head of Technical Excellence at Jaguar Land Rover said: “We’re delighted to see the first graduate from the Technical Accreditation Scheme. Howard has put in a tremendous amount of time and effort to achieve his MSc and he should be pleased of his achievements. The development of our engineers is business critical to Jaguar Land Rover, ensuring continued innovation and technical excellence in the delivery of premium cars and all-terrain vehicles. The Technical Accreditation Scheme is our innovative and progressive approach to skills growth, making the most of the excellence of our university partners in delivering cutting edge education.”

WMG, at the University of Warwick, is one of Jaguar Land Rover’s key partners in their innovative Technical Accreditation Scheme. It is a unique and complex programme which aims to up skill staff in the required skills and knowledge, to support the delivery of future product strategy and low-carbon technologies.

Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, WMG Chairman comments “It’s wonderful to see the first graduate from the Technical Accreditation Scheme. It shows what individuals can achieve when their company is willing to invest in them. It is vitally important, for British manufacturing, that we ensure we have an appropriately skilled workforce to be able to continue to compete on the world stage and improve the British economy.”

The programme is fully funded by Jaguar Land Rover with both the company and student gaining enormous benefits. With over 80 modules to choose from across 10 universities it allows staff to tailor their programme of study. What staff gain is new technology skills to add to their knowledge and understanding which is then applied within their role and area of focus within the company.

Modules cover areas such as: Powertrain Design, Hybrids, Computer Simulation, Electronics, Sustainable Product Design, Quality Tools and Project management – they can be all taken separately or combined to form a qualification, up to and including an MSc or EngD from one of the partner universities. There are currently 3,800 Jaguar Land Rover staff on TAS modules.

The Scheme is fully endorsed by the Royal Academy of Engineering and accredited by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Institution of Engineering and Technology and The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, the scheme also supports the UK Automotive Industrial strategy published by Government in July 2013

Note for Editors:

Technical Accreditation Scheme

Jaguar Land Rover launched a unique and innovative programme in September 2010, bringing together nine top universities, to deliver skills development in specific key technical disciplines. The University of Warwick is the hub and is joined by Loughborough, Cranfield and Coventry universities, in the first year of the scheme, have been joined by Bradford, Southampton, York and Aston Universities, plus now in 2015 UCL, to deliver masters level and accredited modules.