Recruit expert talent for automotive
Recruitment agencies, events and partnerships can help you tap into the huge network of UK automotive talent.
Recruitment agencies
You can search the UK Investment Support Directory to find recruitment specialists with experience in finding the right staff for your business in the UK.
There’s also a list of specialist recruitment consultants on the Recruitment and Employment Confederation website.
Talent clusters
Materials
- Oxfordshire and the West Midlands (known as Motorsport Valley) for lightweight transport materials expertise
- North West England, including Manchester. The region has the second-largest automotive cluster in the UK. It’s strong in talent for light alloys, technical textiles, coatings and graphene and other 2D materials
Commercial engineering and testing facilities
The Midlands region has several centres of excellence, including:
- HORIBA MIRA’s Technology Park, with 39 major test facilities (for example, crash, aerodynamics and electromagnetic compatibility), 100km of test tracks and a team of engineers developing solutions for global Original Equipment Manufacturers.
- CAVWAY Oakley Airfield has specialist connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) test facilities for all types of junctions
- CoVEx has an open platform for the commercial exchange of CAV-related data
- Midlands Future Mobility, Coventry and Birmingham includes 480km of urban roads, with world-leading connected infrastructure
In the South of England:
- UTAC Millbrook in Bedfordshire specialises in testing of CAVs in a closed atomic research environment with 2,000 staff
- Smart Mobility Living Lab in London is an open environment, providing a real-world urban testbed
Manufacturing
- the Midlands, supporting car manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, in Coventry and surrounding areas
- North East England – supporting major players such as Nissan, Komatsu and Caterpillar
Expertise through knowledge transfer
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) scheme provides opportunities for businesses who have an idea, but do not have all the talent needed to develop it. The scheme can link your company with an academic or research organisation, providing you with the services of a graduate as an associate.
A KTP is part-funded by a grant, with a contribution also made by the company.