Engineering Recruitment«A Global Challenge»

Maserati S.p.A.

Brief Introduction

• Ian Thompson – Head of Vehicle Interiors• Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari part of FCA Premium group• Alfa Romeo separated from Fiat to rebuild brand name and image• 29 years of experience in Vehicle Design, Development• Lived and worked in over 9 countries• Business trips to many more (lost count)• Worked for Ford, Volvo, Peugeot, Renault, VW/Audi, Lotus, Chrysler, GM,

Aston Martin, Proton• Started in 1985 in Austin Rover Group (included Jaguar and Land Rover) at the

Canley plant in Coventry (ex Triumph Cars plant)

Maserati S.p.A.

Presentation

• The Good Old Days• The present• A potential Future

Maserati S.p.A.

The Good Old Days.

Who Remembers these??

Maserati S.p.A.

The Good Old Days.

OK so not all was good !!!!

But Many Icons were created too!!

Maserati S.p.A.

The Good Old Days

• No shortage of engineers in Automotive Industry. • Competition from Asian Market was still in infancy• OEMs had well established and integrated development programs for its

engineers – (Apprenticeship)• OEMs had ability to pick the very best straight from schools (not colleges)• OEMs trained its upcoming engineers in the trades of the Auto industry and

combined with day release and evening classes of college to gain degrees, diplomas etc.

• Young engineers were taught every part of the company: Styling, Design, Development, Testing, Manufacturing, Facilities, Finance, Purchasing……

• In final year they picked their area of expertise or interest to specialize in. • After 4 to 5 years OEM had a fully trained and qualified engineer, who knew

all about the business, learned what was good and what was bad in designs and had respect from the OEM team as they had “done their time”.

• However the 80’s was also a transition period towards the end of 80’s apprenticeships were closing down with companies moving to hiring graduates straight from college with degrees…..

Maserati S.p.A.

The Present

• OEMs deleted apprenticeship programs in the 90’s.• Moved to direct hire from colleges (save on training, save on salaries etc)• Difference between college learning and on the job learning was missed• In Automotive industry there was a divide between expectations presented

by colleges and the expectations of the Industry. • Industry still believed in earning your stripes and doing your time• College taught with degree high expectation of becoming manager in

very quick time• Two problems happened in very short time:

• The students who didn’t get to rise quickly became disillusioned and left

• OEMs tried to correct by promoting quickly, the alienating the engineers who had done their time, OEMs quickly lost the expertise to highest bidders

• Competition in Auto industry became fierce. Asian market Toyota, Honda etc gained ground quickly. UK market died. Many engineers quit industry

• The bigger OEMs merged or took over the smaller or weaker ones creating dominance in market.

Maserati S.p.A.

The Present «It all went wrong»

• Competition for global dominance became the focus – Volume became the focus and what the customer actually wanted was largely ignored. Millions of Focus’s, Mondeo’s, Astras, Escorts, Corsa’s, Clios, Golfs, etc.

• In USA they kept pumping out SUVs in huge volumes even though gas prices started to increase

• 2009 it all collapsed, economy tanked OEMS left with huge stocks of unwanted cars and plants that had way too much capacity versus demand. Except one.

• Massive loss of engineers, many pursued new careers never to return.

• OEMs had to relearn the business, downsize and rebuild• Now focus is on customer demand. Many more niche vehicles

created over the old ways of just making large amounts of one type vehicle, they use the architecture to build multi variants from one base.

• Market is now growing, demand is starting to come back, but customers now have the power and OEMs have learned to adapt

Maserati S.p.A.

The Problem – Now….

• Global market is now starting to grow, slowly but surely. Some markets quicker than others.

• Asian region now huge market for high end vehicles• The 2009 collapse drove many away from engineering• European Market is fragmented and localized: Example Italy is all in Turin

and small pocket in Modena the rest limited.• USA market dissipated after crash, struggling to attract back.• Passion for industry and engineering not like what it used to be• OEMs not selling themselves to the colleges and schools like in early time• Money and wealth seen as the goals, so careers with high expectations

more popular. Lawyers, Finance, Pharmaceutical etc• Reality TV….how many shows where the stars are engineers???• Still teaching the wrong expectations at colleges

These are not just localized or particular to one region these are global. OEMs in Europe, USA and even Asia struggle to recruit and more importantly retain engineers.

Maserati S.p.A.

A Potential Future

So what can we do?

Maserati S.p.A.

A Potential Future

• Invest in people – not just money, time, education, marketing, bring back the interest, the passion.

• Start early, not just colleges, go to the schools. Present your companies, present your products

• Bring back Apprentice programs, use them to supplement your graduate programs. Remember some of the most precious diamonds start as rough rocks.

• Show realistic career paths and follow them up. Show and tell only works if there's a base of reality.

• Colleges, schools, take students to OEM car plants and OEM technical centers, seeing is believing.

Maserati S.p.A.

A Potential Future

Engineering is exciting – Think of what you can create today!!!

Thank you for your time and interest: Questions???