Q&A Interview: How Bosch UK is rising to the engineering skills challenge

In which particular subject areas and roles are current workplace skills becoming, or are likely to become, obsolete? What’s driving this? 

Technology is developing at a faster pace than before, necessitating the need to ensure our associates have the skills required to allow us to remain competitive in the marketplace.  At Bosch we have in place several programmes specifically designed to respond to this development. We are committed to continuously developing our associates, be that via upskilling, reskilling, reverse mentoring, so that their skills remain relevant throughout their time at Bosch. We are in an era where whole new job fields are emerging and evolving quite quickly, depending on the situation this can, at times, require us to hire new associates with the required skills for example data scientists. 

Reflecting on how subject areas and roles have changed over time it is clear that digitalisation has played a key role in this evolution, it is no longer necessary to manually transfer data in paper format to a software programme, a simple upload from one programme to another is usually all that is required. 

We invest heavily in research and development. For decades a large part of our business has centred around developing engine technology for cars and trucks, this has now transitioned to focusing on developing technology in vehicles by boosting the power of software – whether it’s driver assistance safety systems, electric powertrains, in-car entertainment, or other areas – and that’s an exciting development for Bosch.

How are you assessing and addressing this situation in your own organisation? 

We work very closely with our associates to anticipate the skills gap we expect in the future.  At Bosch we have trained large groups of engineers so that they’re able to turn their attention to a new area of work, essentially reskilling. And we upskill too, so if someone is competent in software skills but perhaps lacking in another field, we support their development by offering them the opportunity to expand their skillsets and broaden their knowledge. We have partnerships with some of the leading universities in the UK who support our aim in this regard, one of our most recent examples relates to an associate who undertook a Masters qualification alongside their role. This enabled our associate to learn about AI, the application of this knowledge is being used to eliminate weeds on farmland in a targeted way, thereby reducing the impact on the environment.

Creativity also plays an important part in really understanding who has the skills we need and how they can be developed within the business. We heavily use coaching, mentoring and reverse mentoring initiatives, where a junior team member teaches skills to a colleague more senior than them – that’s where creativity and collaboration become truly effective. We give associates not just the opportunity to learn new skills but to share their own knowledge with others and we find that a lot of our associates enjoy being teachers and showing people how something like AI works, or how it can lead to an exciting business opportunity.

With today’s pace of change, it’s more important than ever to get people interested in technology from an early age. We have a STEM ambassador programme to help inspire our younger generations to consider STEM subjects and to see how technology and robotics work. We’ve partnered with the Institute of Engineering and Technology on FIRST Lego League, which is for children aged from four to 16, it’s very hands-on, they get to build things that can take on various tasks and challenges, and for the older age groups they’re building robots.

And sometimes we look at acquiring a company that might have skills or knowledge that will work alongside our existing capabilities. An example is Five, the Oxford-based start-up that has an advanced simulator platform in which to test autonomous driving technology. Merging skills and talents from newly acquired companies into our existing organisation, supports our aim to foster continuous learning. It’s a fascinating process and it’s cross-border too, a lot of our Head Office team in Germany has been working with Five, sharing knowledge and building the foundation to future proof our organisation.

What role can technology play in addressing the skills obsolescence challenge?

Technology is important because it can actually be used to accelerate the training process. For example, you can have people from all over the world on one Teams or Zoom call learning about a new technology. Training in an in-person environment can still, at times, be more effective but for information sharing, having the virtual option can also be highly beneficial.

Another example is installing new technology, for example we have chatbots on our HR intranet site. We still need to train people to work the chatbots and to ensure they’re accurate and are delivering a service that’s quick and easy, not slow and frustrating.

Culture also has a role to play when you’re developing the skills of an associate. We’ve set up focus groups that bring associates together from a cross section of our divisions to encourage knowledge sharing and best practice in key areas. The aim is not just to share knowledge but also to adapt our culture and develop our focus on our strategically important areas – leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion, digitalisation, agility, and sustainability. 

What key benefits do you expect to gain from your work so far to tackle skills obsolescence?

In the coming years, we expect that training will continue to be a more important part of associates’ working life than it has been in the past. We’ve developed an AI training programme so that everyone at Bosch has a fundamental understanding of what AI is and what it can do. Thousands of our associates around the world have embarked on this training. As new fields unfold this element of training will become essential so that our people become knowledgeable and competent, in many new areas. It requires time and commitment, but the benefit is you have a workforce with the ability to discuss and feel confident across a wide range of new technologies. 

Martina McGrath is the Director of Human Resources at Bosch UK