The ambitions of any Formula 1 engineering project are always geared towards advancing the team involved on the grid.
Komatsu-Williams Engineering Academy is no different and has similar long-term aspirations, but much more.
The program launched on Thursday, aiming to attract new and untapped talent.
Last weekend, on the occasion of the Italian Grand Prix, a launch event was organised on the roof of the team’s motorhome, with a visit from Alex Albon, fresh from ninth place in Monza.
Also in attendance was Williams team principal James Vowles, who addressed guests in detail about what the Academy means to both the team and himself.
“Engineering is a huge field that spans many disciplines. I’m really looking forward to seeing this academy grow and take off, I’ve seen the plans and I’m excited about what it will produce, I think it will work hand in hand with what we’re doing within Williams, it’s a natural fit,” he said.
“I myself, about 30 years ago, entered a similar mechanism, I was a graduate entering Formula 1 and F1 30 years ago had no idea what to do with graduates.”
“It really struck me that I wanted to make sure that we are providing opportunities for future generations, investing in future generations because they are the ones who are going to be our leaders in the time to come.”
“This is an incredibly important part of who Williams is today and who Williams will be in the next five to 10 years; this investment immediately demonstrates that Williams’ journey is not about shortcuts, but about building a foundation with the graduates of the future.”
Offering work experience, apprenticeships, traineeships and graduate programmes, the joint venture between Komatsu and Williams is positioned to lead the way in these projects.
“The Engineering Academy has been running for a number of years and the underlying principle is to find the next generation of high-potential STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) talent,” explains Ann Perrins, Chief HR Officer at Williams.
“From a global perspective, we are looking to engage a wide range of students, working with F1 in Schools, and each year we will take 10 students onto the programme. We look to invest in this programme year on year and the principles are to find great talent, help them develop and give them a really great experience.”
At the heart of the launch is Williams’ multi-year partnership with Komatsu, announced in February as a “moment of affirmation” for the team.
RP – Komatsu Engineering
Photo by: Williams
While the Komatsu logo now proudly stands out on Albon and Franco Colapinto’s cars, for Perrins the relationship goes much deeper.
“Komatsu is a relatively new partner for us, but we immediately found ourselves in harmony on some of the key collaborative opportunities,” he said.
“The main thing to say is that with these really big partnerships like the one with Komatsu, it’s not just about stickers on the machine. We have to make sure we bring great value to the partnership.”
F1 in Schools is an important factor for the academy and provides potential candidates to join the program.
It is an international STEM competition that challenges students from over 40 countries to design and race miniature F1 cars using computer-aided design software.
Those who are successful will advance to the World Finals, this year hosted in Saudi Arabia, before potentially moving on to the Komatsu-Williams Engineering Academy.
“F1 in Schools is a truly perfect partnership,” said Perrins.
“They are a non-profit organization, working globally to identify talent from around the world for the future of motorsports.”
“They have a fantastic competition and we join this competition to meet the finalist students in Saudi Arabia. Then they apply to join the academy and go through the assessment center.”
“We’ve had a number of success stories and recently three of the newest cohort members have been through our industrial placement year, so they’ve come to work with Williams for a year and two of them have gone on to join our graduate programme.”
“Once they get into the program, they’ll have a mentor who will work with them on a quarterly basis. So, they’ll have access to them. We have a dedicated e-learning platform, and there’s a lot of F1 content that’s really interesting for people, that we’ve been putting in place for a number of years.”
“Also, one thing that’s really interesting is that they can compete for some of the other career offerings that we have.”
In addition to F1 in schools, the academy also offers opportunities for those from less traditional engineering backgrounds to make their way into the industry.
This is one aspect of the project that excites Komatsu, as Todd Connolly, vice president of Global Brand Transformation, explained ahead of the launch event in Monza.
“Diversity is a very important topic for our industry and for Komatsu in particular. Historically, careers in our industry have been more male-dominated and it is absolutely our goal, all the way up to the highest levels of the organization, to increase gender diversity,” she said.
“This program also broadens the talent pool geographically: Komatsu has more than 64,000 team members globally, so this program will open opportunities to people around the world. Aptitude should not be limited by geography.
“When we started talking to Williams and found out that they have a very similar focus and a shared ambition in talent development, the synergy seemed right to us. The two organizations, Williams and Komatsu, have shared values and a common focus on people development.”
Komatsu was a technical partner of the Williams F1 team in the 1990s and this was an opportunity to come back together in a completely different capacity.
Alex Albon, Williams Racing, RP – Komatsu Engineering
Photo by: Williams
“Our goal is to create value together with Williams. The previous partnership was about developing technologies. The partnership we have now is about developing people and raising awareness of STEM careers in our industry,” Connolly said.
“Engineering Academy participants will be extraordinary, high-potential, high-performing candidates at the end of their training – we will need to find a way to share them between ourselves and Williams!”
Potentially uncovering the engineering stars of tomorrow from around the world – and across society – would undoubtedly be a beneficial day for Williams and its on-track results.
Perrins and Connolly, however, believe the Komatsu-Williams Engineering Academy has much broader goals.
“I would say it’s broader,” Perrins said.
“From a brand perspective, for Williams and Komatsu, the partnership with ‘F1 in Schools’ is truly remarkable. It helps bring motorsport as a career to a wider community of students.”
“But then, obviously, for those who do make it into the program, it’s a really important way of investing in their development from an early career perspective.”
“There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing someone come out of a program and reach what we expect to be the pinnacle of their chosen field,” adds Connolly.
“So our hope is that talent will not only flow into Formula 1, but also into the heavy industry sector, because we will need more and more people in engineering and technical roles in our space, to facilitate the next 100 years of growth, just as our first 100 years of growth was driven by our people.”
One thing that is certain is that the avenues for these positions are becoming much more open with the new Komatsu-Williams Engineering Academy and the work the partnership is doing to make it a success.
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