Employer: Forvia (Faurecia & HELLA Group)
Industry: Automotive Components, Sustainable Mobility Technology, Industrial Engineering & Production Manufacturing
Location: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa (On-Site & Plant Environment)
Position Type: Full-Time Fixed-Term Engineering Trainee / Internship
Target Candidates: Mechanical, Industrial, Mechatronics, Manufacturing & Systems Engineering Graduates
Experience Level: Entry-Level / Recent Graduate (Up to 2 years’ entry-level or internship experience)
Compensation: Market-Related Automotive Engineering Trainee Allowance
Posted Date: 26 October 2026
About Forvia & The Engineering Trainee Role
Forvia is the world’s seventh-largest global automotive technology supplier, uniting the technological strengths of Faurecia and HELLA with over 157,000 employees across 40+ countries. Forvia is a certified pioneer in sustainable mobility, smart cockpits, zero-emission hydrogen energy, and net-zero automotive manufacturing.
Forvia is recruiting a dynamic, highly analytical Program / Engineering Trainee / Intern (Job ID: 67603) to join their manufacturing operations in Cape Town, Western Cape. Designed for recent engineering graduates, this role works directly alongside the Program Manufacturing Leader and Chief Engineer. The trainee will gain hands-on operational exposure across product industrialization, design for manufacturing (DFM), production line cardboard/equipment workshops, line cycle time studies, PPAP qualification, and new vehicle launch readiness.
Key Responsibilities & Industrial Engineering Workflows
The Engineering Trainee will execute five core industrialization and launch deliverables:
1. Program Coordination & Team Support
- Work-Package Tracking: Track manufacturing work-package tasks, milestone deliverables, risk registers, and open-point action items.
- Information Flow: Facilitate information sharing between the Program Manager, Industrial Program Leader, plant engineering teams, and component suppliers.
- Meeting Logistics: Prepare technical inputs for Program Core Team reviews and maintain accurate decision logs.
2. Product Manufacturability & Process Definition
- Initial Process Concepts: Assist in drafting Initial Process Concepts, process definitions, and standard manufacturing documentation.
- Concurrent Engineering: Participate in concurrent engineering sessions with Product Development and Quality teams to drive Design for Manufacturing (DFM).
- Time Studies & Engineering Changes: Conduct basic cycle time studies, work content analysis, and document engineering change requests using approved templates.
3. Production System Development
- Footprint & Workshops: Participate in Preliminary Manufacturing Footprint Analysis, Cardboard Line Workshops, and Equipment Design Reviews.
- CapEx & Costing: Gather technical specifications and costing inputs for Capital Expenditure Requests (CapEx), tool lists, and equipment vendor timing plans.
- Capacity Modeling: Maintain capacity study spreadsheets, tracking cycle times, scrap rates, rework assumptions, and direct labor content.
4. Production Launch & Qualification Support
- Trial Preparation: Provide hands-on plant floor support during production trials (PT, MPT, EMPT) and line qualification phases.
- PPAP & Equipment Pre-Acceptance: Assist with equipment, tooling, and gauge pre-acceptance inspections, recording trial observations for Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) sign-offs.
5. Targets, Reporting & Continuous Improvement
- Dashboard Management: Update KPIs and engineering dashboards for capital expenditure, direct labor, cycle time, scrap, and launch costs.
- Problem Solving: Participate in Industrial Design Workshops, applying structured problem-solving methodologies to eliminate line bottlenecks.
Candidate Profile & Minimum Entry Requirements
To qualify for consideration under Job ID: 67603, applicants must meet the following mandatory technical criteria:
- Educational Qualifications (MANDATORY ENGINEERING DEGREE):
- Completed BTech, BEng, or BSc Degree in Mechanical, Industrial, Mechatronics, Manufacturing, or a closely related engineering discipline (Mandatory).
- Work Experience Level:
- Recent graduate or up to 2 years of relevant experience (gained through internships, vacation work, or entry-level roles) (Mandatory).
- Advantageous: Exposure to automotive manufacturing, plant assembly lines, or tier-1 component suppliers.
- Technical Knowledge & Attributes:
- Basic understanding of manufacturing processes, technical engineering drawings, quality principles, and root-cause analysis.
- Passionate about production systems, industrialization, tooling, and process validation.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint); experience with data analysis or project management tools is advantageous.
- Fluent written and spoken English.
- Willingness to work in plant environments and travel to local suppliers or other Forvia sites when required.
Application Guidelines & Selection Steps
- Prepare Document Package:
- Detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) highlighting engineering projects, time studies, or CAD/CAM coursework.
- Certified Copy of South African ID Document or Passport.
- Certified Copies of Engineering Qualification Certificates & Academic Transcripts.
- Online Portal: Submit your application directly via the official Forvia Careers Portal searching Job ID: 67603.
- Closing Date: Applications are processed on a rolling basis; early submission is strongly recommended.
Sample Selection & Automotive Engineering Interview Questions
Industrialization, DFM & Production Launch
- Question (Design for Manufacturing): “When participating in a Design for Manufacturing (DFM) review, how do you evaluate an engineering component drawing to ensure it can be assembled efficiently on a high-speed production line without causing operator ergonomics issues or high scrap rates?”
- Question (Cycle Time Studies): “What steps do you follow when conducting a line time study to identify process bottlenecks and optimize direct labor content during trial runs (PT/MPT)?”
How to Apply
Apply online directly via the official Forvia Careers Portal:
- Employer: Forvia (Faurecia & HELLA Group)
- Job ID: 67603
- Location: Cape Town, Western Cape
- Position: Program / Engineering Trainee / Intern
- Qualifications: BTech/BEng/BSc in Mechanical, Industrial, Mechatronics, or Manufacturing Engineering