In addition to these shop floor jobs, JCB said it also had vacancies for more than 100 permanent employees in engineering and other staff professions at its World Headquarters in Rocester and sites across the UK.

The firm, which already employs 6,000 people in the UK, said it now had a very healthy order book and is taking on over 200 operatives immediately with a further 400 staff required within 12 weeks.

Worldwide growth in construction has brought record demand for many of the product lines manufactured at its Derbyshire plant at Foston, as well as its Staffordshire factories at Rocester, Cheadle and Rugeley.

JCB chief operating officer, Mark Turner said: “This is great news for the local economy and great news for anyone seeking to work with a globally successful business.

“We know the cities of Stoke-on-Trent, Derby and surrounding towns have people with the skills we need, and in return they can expect excellent rewards.

“We urgently need fabrication welding skills along with paint sprayers, and general assemblers who will be given full training.

“The opportunities are initially for agency employees, however we see them as long-term opportunities – in fact, in the first three months of 2018 we have given permanent contracts to 200 agency staff. That means over the past four years we have handed permanent contracts to 850 agency employees.

“The future is very bright for JCB as global demand for our machines continues to grow, which means great prospects for people who want to work with us.”

The new roles pay a minimum of £10.40 per hour for Monday to Friday working hours, with a premium paid for shift-work opportunities.