Carmaker recruits new interns to maintain skills levels

BIRMINGHAM-based carmaker MG Motor UK, has enrolled new students onto its internship programme.

Open to all undergraduates taking relevant degrees within the engineering field, the Chinese-owned company said the Automotive Engineering Internship programme for 2016/17 demonstrated its ongoing commitment to developing young talent.  

The seven new students, all from Bath or Oxford Brookes Universities, will spend the next year working at the SAIC Motor Technical Centre (SMTC), which is based at MG’s Longbridge site.

Employing more than 250 qualified engineers, the SMTC delivers product engineering and design activity for MG Motor’s global operations, as well as providing automotive engineering services to other companies within the SAIC group.

Steve Jones, HR manager at the SMTC, said: “We’re incredibly privileged at the Longbridge site to operate as the global centre of excellence for design and engineering within the SAIC group.

“Manufacturing more than 5.6 million vehicles per year, our global business provides a massive opportunity for aspiring UK engineers, who are designing vehicles right here in Birmingham that are made and sold throughout the world.”

September 2016 marks the fourth intake of engineering interns to the annual programme. Each student is appointed a mentor from within the SAIC engineering team and spends the next 12 months working within a specific automotive engineering discipline.

Commenting on the continued development at the Longbridge site, Matthew Cheyne, head of sales and marketing at MG Motor, said: “We’re proud to be attracting this calibre of graduates to the company. It shows that the future for MG and our product line-up is strong and growing in step with our sales and dealer network.  We’re an evolving company and we need to continually look at what ideas and designs the new breed of designers and engineers can bring to the brand.”

The programme provides vital real-world engineering exposure alongside team building and classroom based training.

Throughout their placement, interns will be immersed in all areas of the SMTC business, including design, advanced engineering, vehicle integration, body structure, powertrain applications, engine and chassis development.