Jaguar will need people from abroad for its plant in Slovakia

HR director Nicci Cook says that she sees women and the long-term unemployed as an untapped resource of the work force for the JLR plant in Nitra.

Nicci CookNicci Cook (Source: Sme)

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will soon complete the construction of its plant in Nitra and will launch production in September. The company currently employs 1,300 people and aims to reach a headcount of 2,800. The HR director at JLR plant in Slovakia, Nicci Cook, talks about the hiring plans and more.

Do you still have any job vacancies?

Nicci Cook (NC): Towards the end of the year we are looking to hire another 150 people for the current shift. Currently we are 1,337, so that will take us to around 1,500 by the end of this year. And currently, we are planning a recruitment campaign for our second shift in 2019.

What are the job positions still available?

NC: Employees in the quality check area, that is people who are coming at the end of the line and making any repairs to a vehicle. Maintenance roles and operator associate roles, that is people who build the car on the line. On top of that, there are also some professional roles, although significantly fewer of them, which can be covered by economists and lawyers.

So that means people who want to work in administrative areas have less of a chance of getting jobs than workers?

NC: There are fewer roles but it does not mean people have less of a chance.

In October you launched a big recruitment campaign to hire 1,000 workers. What were the main problems with finding people to fill the job vacancies?

NC: We were aware that the situation in the Slovak labour market was very tight and we know that in the Nitra Region unemployment is about 2.6 percent. But we were taken aback by some people's attitude to work and the behaviour that has been displayed.

So you did not have problems finding enough people?

NC: We’ve been very lucky and we are very well set for our first shift, although we are still looking for 150 people.

How do you explain this luck?

NC: There are people that want to do something new, fresh, they want to work on a green field. People find it very attractive.

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