A T-Level Engineering student from Solihull College & University Centre is gearing up to start her 4-year apprenticeship with car giant Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).
Lemeah Simpson-Smith,18, loves going to car shows, drawing cars and would love to race them too, so when it came to choosing options after school, it wasn’t too difficult.
She comments: “My grandad used to work at JLR, I would see him go to work at 5am and hear the stories from the shopfloor. He has been a massive inspiration for me to get into the automotive industry, and I can’t wait to do him proud!”
Lemeah is one of only a handful of apprentices taken on by JLR in a highly competitive process and she is ready for the challenge.
“I’ve learnt so many skills during my time at Woodlands, and I feel as though I was really well equipped to get through the JLR process. The T-Level was perfect for me as I got to spend time on placement at the ZF group, which is a local manufacturing company – this meant I got proper time in the workplace, and learnt the business side of it, as well as the communication between big companies. It was invaluable to me and a great learning curve.”
Lemeah was the only girl on her course but that didn’t phase her: “I was treated equally as it should be, I was respected by my peers. It would be great to see more girls in engineering, as it’s still so male dominated, so I would encourage anyone to just get on with it. Just do it!”.
Lemeah’s tutor, David Ridewood, comments: “Lemeah is a very hard worker, always pushing herself to achieve. She is always on time for all lessons and very polite and pleasant. She has grown in confidence over the last two years and has shown a high skill level within the workshop. She is a very capable student and I am so pleased she has been offered the apprenticeship at JLR.”
