Tata Motors European Technical Centre appoints Jonathan Lee Recruitment as Master Vendor for UK recruitment

Tata Motors European Technical Centre plc (TMETC) has chosen Integrate, the managed service brand of Jonathan Lee to be the master vendor for permanent and contract recruitment for its four Midlands sites as they prepare for imminent expansion. The managed recruitment service will help TMETC to attract and retain high calibre staff in a competitive market while matching recruitment capacity to the increase in business demand.

“This is a complete, end-to-end, managed service for the recruitment of both permanent and contract staff with a range of highly specialist skills,” said Jayne Wogan, Head of Integrate Managed Services. “By tailoring our processes and services to meet TMETC’s specific challenges, we are helping them to manage their ongoing staffing needs efficiently while freeing the in-house HR team to focus on strategic activities that drive the business forward.”

Through its partnership with Integrate, TMETC will benefit from a cost-effective recruitment service which is able to be scaled as required to satisfy the varying demands of the business. The company will also benefit from consistent, robust and compliant contractor management services.

“TMETC’s mission is to be a world-class automotive innovator and to become the employer of choice for talented people in the automotive industry,” said James Billingham, Purchase and Business Process Manager of TMETC. “Competition is strong in the global automotive market and so gaining an advantage through attracting and retaining the best talent in both technical and business functions can prove essential in securing the future success of a business and in establishing a brand as a market leader.”

With constantly evolving legislation, underprepared businesses can be left exposed when employing both contract and permanent staff. With in-house legal expertise, Integrate ensures that all necessary processes are followed, thereby limiting risk for the client. The service also provides complete transparency of process through a monitoring module which is tailored to each customer’s individual requirements and provides live data on the account status.     

Jayne Wogan says that the service goes far beyond a conventional recruitment contract: “Integrate differs from our competitors in that our service is driven by personal account management and industry expertise, backed up with effective bespoke technology solutions. We aim to really understand our client’s business and staffing needs and to tailor our services to support their strategic goals. We provide robust process management, risk mitigation and sharing, legal compliance, management of the complete recruitment supply chain and business-level cost savings,” she said.

The agreement builds on the relationship that began in 2005 when Jonathan Lee Recruitment was the sole provider of recruitment services during the formation of TMETC. The sites covered by the agreement are TMETC at Warwick University, Tata Motors Design at HPL, Coventry, the manufacturing facility at Crosspoint Business Park, also in Coventry and Tata’s Prototype and Engineering Development Facilities at Gaydon.

About Jonathan Lee Recruitment

Jonathan Lee Recruitment is a leading specialist in the recruitment of permanent and contracting engineers and other professional disciplines for all types of technology-focused business. Our consultants are part of the industry, many having worked as engineers or in HR positions in engineering companies. Having developed a strong reputation as the leading specialist within the automotive industry, our expertise now covers many other sectors. Our sector insight is complemented by the HR skills needed to provide sound advice that helps companies apply the latest knowledge and tools to the delivery of long-term value through exceptional people.

About Integrate

Integrate is a sub-brand of Jonathan Lee Contracts, which has more than 32 years experience in providing the highest calibre of permanent and contract recruitment services. Using this knowledge and expertise, Integrate provides companies of all sizes with fully bespoke managed recruitment services backed up by the essential and appropriate technology solutions. As well as the supply of fully managed recruitment services, Integrate also works with hand picked partners to provide payroll and HR support, including contractor mortgage services, healthcare and pension provision among many others.

About Tata Motors European Technical Centre plc

Tata Motors European Technical Centre plc (TMETC) was founded in September 2005 to provide state-of-the-art engineering competence to Tata Motors Limited (the parent company based in India) and to the global automotive engineering industry. TMETC’s engineering team with has significant automotive engineering experience gained in Vehicle Manufacturers, Tier1 suppliers and Engineering Consultancies. With its main operation based at the International Automotive Research Centre at the University of Warwick Campus, TMETC has additional design, prototyping and manufacturing facilities within easy reach.

How to get into engineering

Practical skills from a qualification in engineering can lead to jobs in many and varied industries ... but other things come into play, too

Graduates with a qualification in engineering, design and manufacture can use their skills (be they mechanical, chemical, electrical or otherwise) within many industries. Typical sectors include automotive, aviation, telecoms and consumer goods manufacturing.

As well as being technically proficient, employers look for graduate engineers who are adept at problem-solving and can display analytical, teamworking, organisation, communication and project management skills.

Getting in
Philip Whiteman, chief executive of Semta

Our research indicates that businesses in our sectors will need to recruit 82,000 scientists, engineers and technologists by 2016 to keep up with anticipated growth and to replace people retiring. Ensuring we have a pipeline of young talent coming up through the ranks is pivotal.

Bright young people need to consider advanced engineering and manufacturing. There are a wide range of jobs and career paths, while salaries and prospects compare well with other professions.

Employers are looking for young people who can combine skills and knowledge, so it's a good idea to get some work experience whether you are thinking about one of the many high-quality engineering undergraduate courses or taking an apprenticeship.

Getting on
Henry Noteman, regional manager at engineering recruitment specialist Jonathan Lee Recruitment

The degree you do is, of course, important. One that focuses more on industrial design will take you to a different place than mechanical engineering. But people should be aiming to acquire membership of a chartered body. They are of growing importance, not only in the UK but also those run by European engineering bodies. So look to the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, but also overseas. Similarly, languages are becoming more important – it doesn't matter what you want to be in your career if you can't converse with a client.

It can be hard to swap from, say, a mechanical engineer into product design, as employers are quite conservative; but there are plenty of engineering generalists who remain project engineers, and there are the specialists.

If you aspire to managerial level, personal traits become just as important as your training and experience. You'll need to have a personal impact, be able to influence and persuade, be willing to throw yourself in when you feel you can make a difference, and have good communications, planning and organising skills.

View from the inside
Nazia Ali, on a graduate programme at Jaguar Land Rover

After obtaining A-levels in maths and physics I went to Queen Mary University of London to study mechanical engineering.

I was exposed to both the theoretical and practical sides of engineering. I found out about graduate opportunities with Jaguar Landrover at a careers fair at the NEC in Birmingham, where I learned what I could expect as a graduate engineer at the company.

I went on to apply for a graduate position and, after taking part in online psychometric testing and a one-day interview, I was offered a position on the programme. I'm in the second year of its graduate program, based in body engineering within product development. I've had opportunities to work on new designs and technologies from prototype builds to hybrid calibration.

There is so much to experience and it is reassuring because there will always be areas I can draw on to help me develop further as an engineer and an individual. I plan to work towards becoming a chartered engineer and a world class engineer."

IMechE - Advanced Driver Assistance Systems - Event

17th January 2012
Coventry Automobile Division - Young Members
ADVANCED DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS EVENT
PRESENTED BY: DR ALAIN DUNOYER
Vehicle Capability Technical Specialist at Jaguar Land Rover
Sponsored by Jonathan Lee Recruitment

Arrive from 19:00 for 19:30 start
Admission is free of charge and there is no need to pre-book
Alan Berry Building, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry, CV1 5FJ

DSEi: Salaries rise in defence electronics

Electronics engineers working in the UK defence/aerospace sector can command an average salary of over £41,000, according to a salary survey carried out on the eve of the DSEi Exhibition. The salary level reflects the strength of this engineering sector despite the affects of the general economic downturn and the prospect of budget cuts. Electronics Weekly has collaborated with Jonathan Lee Recruitment to carry out a major survey of salary levels in the UK electronics industry. http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2011/09/14/51843/dsei-salaries-rise-in-defence-electronics.htm

Donna Patient returns to the Team

Following the birth of her son, Jack, last July in the Calderdale Hospital in Halifax, Jonathan Lee Recruitment is delighted to welcome back Donna Patient to our Wakefield office.

http://www.jonlee.co.uk/newsletter/summer11/Donna.htm

Chris Watkins goes the distance for Kidney Research UK

Jonathan Lee Recruitment recently helped Chris Watkins, a project manager and engineer from Wiltshire, raise over £1,200 for charity by sponsoring him to run the 2011 London marathon.

http://www.jonlee.co.uk/newsletter/summer11/Chris.htm

Louise Francis goes the distance

When Louise Francis left the Basildon office of Jonathan Lee Recruitment behind late in 2009, it was they who helped secure her new position with Ford.

Alongside her colleague, Catherine Rodgers, Louise took part in the British Heart Foundation’s 5K Hyde Park Jog on 29 June 2011. Louise and Catherine ran in the British Heart Foundation’s 5K challenge in memory of Catherine’s father who passed away from cardiac arrest due to a heart disease that he did not know he had 2 years ago.

http://www.jonlee.co.uk/newsletter/summer11/Louise.htm

Wedding Bells

Senior Recruitment Assistant Rachel Meacham recently married her childhood sweetheart, Lee Shilton, in a beautiful private ceremony in Sorrento, Italy. The couple tied the knot after 16 years together on 9 May 2011.

http://www.jonlee.co.uk/newsletter/summer11/Rachel.htm

Charlie Lewis passes Certificate in Recruitment Practice with merit

Basildon’s Charlie Lewis is the latest Jonathan Lee Recruitment employee to receive this professional qualification. The Certificate provides the fundamental knowledge that is essential to work effectively in the recruitment industry. Charlie passed with merit, having completed modules in ‘the recruitment marketplace’, ‘essential legislation and procedures’ and ‘the relationship with the business community’ among others.

http://www.jonlee.co.uk/newsletter/summer11/Charlie.htm

Basildon is ten!

It is ten years this July since the Basildon office of Jonathan Lee Recruitment first opened its doors. The office was launched in 2001 with a team of four, primarily to cover the local market for automotive engineers.

Now, ten years on, the office has a team of 13 and at least 400 contractors on its books, working not only in automotive but aerospace, motorsport and environmental technology. It also plays an important part in its local community, through fundraising (see stories elsewhere in New Recruit) but also in its ongoing support for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in the area.

http://www.jonlee.co.uk/newsletter/summer11/Basildon.htm