Business News


Package to boost skills


Funded college courses for adults with no A-Levels could go a long way towards helping those with a lack of qualifications to upskill, says the Chamber. The organisation responded


to plans set out by prime minister Boris Johnson to transform the training and skills system, which include offering adults without an A- Level or equivalent qualification a free, fully- funded college course via the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. The offer will be available in


April, and will be paid for through the National Skills Fund, which will receive an additional £2.5bn boost from Government. Additionally, colleges will


receive £1.5bn of capital funding for their buildings and facilities and small and medium sized businesses will receive extra cash to take on apprentices.


‘We’re transforming the foundations of the skills system so that everyone has the chance to train and retrain’


Higher education loans will


also be made more flexible, allowing adults and young people to space out their study across their lifetimes, take more high quality vocational courses in further education colleges and universities, and to support people to retrain. Another £8m will also be


invested in digital skills boot camps, following the success of pilot schemes in Manchester and Birmingham Mr Johnson said: “We’re


transforming the foundations of the skills system so that everyone has the chance to train and retrain.” Chamber policy advisor


Emily Stubbs said: “This step towards a more agile and flexible adult skills system is a welcome move from the Government. Covid-19 has only increased the pace of innovation and change in the UK economy and employers need short sharp solutions to the new skills needs emerging from the new challenges and opportunities they are facing.”


8 CHAMBERLINK November 2020


JLR turns to rubbish to make sustainable interiors


Future Jaguar Land Rover vehicle interiors will be rubbish – or at least made from rubbish. The car giant, which has key plants in the Midlands,


said its next generation vehicles would use floor mats and trim made from a fibre produced from recycled industrial plastic, fabric offcuts from clothing manufacturers, fishing nets from the farming industry, and nets abandoned in the ocean, known as ‘ghost nets’.


‘Our designers and engineers are committed to developing the next generation of sustainable materials’


This fibre is econyl, a type of nylon, and it has been


created by Aquafil, a global leader in the synthetic fibres industry. It is has already in use by high-end fashion, sportswear and luxury watch firms, to create handbags, backpacks, swimwear and watch straps. In one year the company recycles up to 40,000


tonnes of waste, with the recycling process reducing the global warming impact of nylon by 90 per cent


compared with the material produced from oil. The use of recycled materials is part of Jaguar Land


Rover’s ‘Destination Zero’ project. Adrian Iles, senior engineer of interior systems at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Our designers and engineers are committed to developing the next generation of sustainable materials that will feature on future Jaguar and Land Rover models. “We place a great deal of focus on the creation of


new sustainable materials, using the latest, most innovative techniques and textiles. Minimising waste, re-using materials and reducing carbon emissions sits at the heart of our Destination Zero mission. “This pioneering materials research is one of the key


ways we’ll achieve this and is an integral part of our design offering to our customers.” Earlier this year, Jaguar Land Rover was certified for


the second consecutive year by the Carbon Trust, confirming business operations across the UK have met the internationally recognised standard for carbon neutrality, known as PAS 2060. Together, these UK based sites represent 77 per cent of Jaguar Land Rover’s global vehicle production.


What a waste: a Range Rover fitted out with the material made from plastic bottles


...while plant production resumes


A leading economist at Birmingham City University has welcomed the return of production shifts at Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull and Halewood plants, but says the overall outlook for car manufacturers remained ‘cloudy’ and that Brexit remained a ‘key challenge’. Professor Alex de Ruyter said:


“This is positive news from a strategically important employer in the region. The recovery in Chinese demand is particularly welcome and indicates that areas where Covid-19 has been effectively suppressed are witnessing relatively robust


economic recoveries. Sadly, the overall outlook still remains notably cloudy. Domestic demand is notably


weak at present and production remains well below its peak. A torrid 2020 has followed a 2019 that itself saw the weakest UK vehicle production for some years, and the sector has a number of significant strategic challenges to weather. “In the immediate term, Brexit


will be a key challenge. In terms of the European market, avoiding tariffs will be crucial. However, all manufacturers are likely to need to come to terms with a plethora of


additional paperwork whether or not a zero-tariff agreement is eventually made, particularly in terms of demonstration of sufficient “local content” when complying with rules of origin. “For the likes of JLR, which


export extensively to large international markets like the US and China, ensuring the continued smooth functioning of supply chains will be absolutely crucial.” A report, ‘Brexit and UK Auto,


Rail and Aerospace: Understanding Logistics and Supply Chain’, co- authored by Professor de Ruyter, was published in January 2020.


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