The Japanese automotive company will also extend its educational outreach programme to 2014, benefiting an extra 6,000 school students and 750 university engineering students.
The announcement coincided with the production launch today of the Nissan Juke and follows the government’s decision to prioritise apprenticeships by refocusing £150m into the creation of an additional 50,000 this year.
Nissan is investing £57m in production of the Juke at Sunderland, which is expected to safeguard 1,100 jobs.
Trevor Mann, Nissan senior vice-president of manufacturing for Europe, said: ‘Juke provides a much needed breath of fresh air within the small car segment and will play a key role in defining the Nissan brand in the years ahead.’
The Sunderland plant expects to produce up to 100,000 Jukes each year, making it the plant’s second-highest volume model behind the Qashqai. The plant also produces the Nissan Note and the Qashqai +2, while the Leaf is confirmed for production from early 2013.
Earlier this year, the Department for Business confirmed a £20m grant supporting further investment by Nissan to produce electric car batteries and to build the Leaf electric car at Sunderland.
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