Andrew heads up Dunton Campus which employs over 3,200 engineers and other commercial vehicle specialists.
Electrification and the addition of new software and services to vehicles involve new skills and engineering specialisms. Ford has four major education outreach partnerships to increase the take up of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects among the next-generation workforce.
To highlight product development engineering ‘intelligent EVs’, which utilise data exchanged between vehicle, operator and Ford, Andrew’s role was taken over by twenty-one-year-old Tatiana for the day for fresh external insights from an Imperial College student.
Andrew, who joined Ford in 1992 and was previously director of powertrain and vehicle architecture engineering, based in China, said: “I’m delighted and proud to lead Ford Dunton’s continued role as the centre of transit engineering, which has developed electric transit vans and Tourneo people carriers.
“Today mechanical engineering graduates like me remain part of Ford product development recruits but are now among programmers and software specialists, data engineers and other skills required for future innovative transits. Tatiana brought a glimpse of how my role is emerging, with the valuable insights fresh eyes always bring.”
Tatiana took Andrew’s chair to explore Ford Pro ecosystem, visiting the Ford Liive Centre to understand how data from vehicles on the road is analysed to maximise their productivity, before recommending deeper data use.
Tatiana said: “The level of attention to the customer’s needs at Ford is second to none. I was very impressed by the quest to achieve complete autonomy in vehicle feedback, notifying Ford Pro proactively of any minor issue and intervening with next-to-no inconvenience to the consumer. The dedication to this goal was visible in each engineer and staff member, reinforcing the community feel of Ford.”
Skills for tomorrow
Ford joined Plan International UK’s ‘Girl’s Takeover’ initiative for the second time in eight months to promote the STEM subjects required for careers in the automotive industry.
The company has partnered Greenpower for almost 20 years, running this month’s Girl’s Takeover in the run up to the East Anglia 2024 Greenpower heat held at Ford Dunton, which saw schools teams race electric cars they had built for a place in the international finals at Goodwood.
Greenpower, along with Code First Girls, Primary Engineer and International Women in Engineering Day, are Ford’s major UK outreach programmes to help introduce the company to the new skills and talent it requires among around 15 education partnerships in total.
Research by Plan International, the charity championing children and girl’s equality, found that young women experience barriers pursuing leadership roles in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Almost half (49%) of 1,000 girls and young women aged 18 to 24 did do not feel that a senior leadership position in STEM was within their future reach, and 39% felt they would not be taken seriously if they were to pursue a career in this sector.
Last year Ford UK’s managing director and human-centred design director roles were taken over by a 19- and 18-year-old respectively, with their advice implemented on Ford Transit Nugget campervans social campaign and presenting Ford at the Global Innovation Forum in London.
Rose Caldwell, CEO at Plan International UK, said: “Tatiana's takeover of Andrew’s high-level role in the engineering and automotive industry is an inspiring celebration of the incredible potential of girls. It’s fantastic to see Ford meaningfully engaging with young women and giving them space to have their voices heard. Male-dominated industries must continue to actively encourage girls and young women to pursue career paths in their sector.
