Nissan, the UK’s largest car manufacturer, has revealed its commitment to encourage more women into the automotive industry as part of a new government-supported scheme.
The initiative, called ‘Your Life’, will see Nissan working with educators, industry and government to promote science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects to young people in the UK, with a focus on attracting women to engineering careers.
Aside from its sales headquarters, Nissan operates three sites in the UK: a leading manufacturing facility in Sunderland, which makes more than 500,000 cars per year; a design centre in Paddington, London; and an R&D hub in Cranfield, Bedfordshire.
Nissan has committed to:
- Visit over 500 local schools in the next 18 months to promote STEM subjects and engineering careers.
- Ensure that 15% of recruits for industrial training placements, and 20% of graduate programme candidates within its R&D function, are women.
- Provide financial support for five female engineering A-level students in 2014 and 2015.
David Moss, Vice President, Vehicle Design and Development, Nissan Technical Centre Europe, said, “Attracting the brightest and best into Nissan is vital to maintaining the quality of our workforce but it is also important that we help young people make informed decisions when choosing their pathways through education.
“Young people truly are the future of our business and we are delighted to be making these promises that will ultimately help to open the minds of young men and young women across the UK to the possibility of a rewarding career in engineering.”
Education Minister Elizabeth Truss said, “Rising numbers of people are taking maths and physics A-levels – but it is still very low. Too many teenagers, especially girls, don’t realise that maths and physics get you everywhere. They have the highest earnings and can open doors to careers in business, journalism, technology, engineering – in fact anything you can probably think of.
“That is why I’m so pleased to see some of the UK’s top businesses and organisations showing their commitment by signing the ‘Your Life’ call to action and committing to recruit more science and maths students. Together we can ensure young people have the skills they need to succeed in life and help the UK compete on a global scale.”
