Cosworth boss: Investment in skills put us back on the F1 grid

MARK Gallagher might have been talking to Nottingham businesses this week – but he was also keeping a close eye on Spain.

The boss of the Formula One engines unit at engineering firm Cosworth was anxiously awaiting news of the company's return to the Grand Prix circuit.

The Northants company is a legend in Formula One, having powered 23 world champions since the 1960s.

But it lost out when car companies moved into the sport in a big way. It switched its attention to aerospace and defence.

With BMW, Toyota and Honda now having walked away from motor racing, Cosworth is back in a big way, powering five teams, including Williams.

The new car and the new engine were taking to the track for the first time at a test session in Valencia.

As Mr Gallagher told a conference in Nottingham, it is a relentless commitment to skills and innovation that has kept Cosworth competitive.

Despite F1's reputation as a ruthless competitive environment, the engineering firms which supply the sport work together in one area – skills.

"There is a terrific amount of cooperation which extends all the way from the F1 in Schools programme through to links with universities running engineering and design courses," Mr Gallagher told the Post.

"Across the F1 industry, human resource directors look at the pool of talent and have processes in place to attract the right people.

"I used to be on the management board of the Jordan grand prix team and taking on apprentices every year was important to us.

"What we found was that we got a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication in return for our investment in them, and because they 'grew up' with the company they developed into fully-fledged members of the team who understood the culture of the business and the way that it operated.

"Our view at Cosworth is that young people have got a tremendous amount to give. Equally, we taken the same view of people who are, for example, over 55. There is a lot of value in wisdom and experience."

He said: "The UK is a leader in the F1 industry and it continues to be a great success for us. We've retained that competitive edge by continuing to invest in facilities and skills."

Cosworth went through a difficult period when manufacturers edged it out by supplying subsidised engines to F1 teams.

But it developed new markets in aerospace and defence because its high-quality precision engineering, innovative approach and fast-response environment meant its skills were transferrable. Besides its renewed commitment to F1, it now works on projects which include engines for Royal Navy frigates and unmanned aerial vehicles.

Mr Gallagher was keynote speaker at the Business and Skills event at the East Midlands Conference Centre, organised to coincide with National Apprenticeship Week.

He shared the platform with Stephen Hillier, the director of the Government Office for the East Midlands.

Mr Hillier stressed it was important that businesses continued to invest in skills, even during a downturn.

"They key thing to remember in National Apprenticeships Week is that the apprenticeship is an opportunity for both employee and employer," he said. "Investment in skills and a willingness to learn drive improvements in productivity.

"So this is about a business doing itself a favour."

Apprenticeships are available to new employees or people already working in a business and they apply not just to engineering but to many different business sectors. Up to 100% financial support is available.

For information, go the website www.apprenticeships.org.uk or call 08000 150 600.