In 2019 SMMT joined forces with the Royal Foundation of the now Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and the Ministry of Defence, to launch Mission Automotive, a new charitable partnership that helps service leavers and veterans into jobs in the sector.
Unveiled at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, and delivered by Mission Motorsport, the Forces’ Motorsport Charity, Mission Automotive distils the charity’s seven years’ experience in placing veterans into employment across the UK automotive industry.
Since the first Invictus Games in 2014, Mission Motorsport partners, including Jaguar Land Rover, DHL, Westway Nissan, Alcon and Bicester Heritage, have already helped 1,700 veterans, including over 150 ex-servicemen and women categorised as wounded, injured or sick, into work.
Mission Automotive maps military skills to qualifications required by the sector, delivering sustainable and relevant employment opportunities for service leavers, veterans and their partners. It also lets the industry tap into a pool of unrealised talent to fill skills gaps in everything from components, infrastructure and software through to manufacturing, logistics, maintenance and repair.
As the move to electrification and related technology gains pace, the initiative will also provide a welcome boost as ex-forces personnel across all three services already possess highly relevant skills in high-voltage technologies and systems.
On 10 February 2021 SMMT signed the Armed Forces Covenant, reaffirming the importance of recruitment and retention of veterans and service leavers for automotive industry. The pledge commits SMMT to promoting best practice, fostering a culture and ethos of inclusivity, and making the commercial case for automotive companies to also sign up to the Covenant.
