Ferrari backs local safety drive
29 June 2008, 13:46
Former James Bond girl Michelle Yeoh and her husband, Jean Todt, the man credited with Ferrari's amazing revival as the Formula One king, have thrown their weight behind road safety and the Automobile Association's (AA) skills development initiative in South Africa.
The celebrity couple was joined by David Ward, the global Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Foundation director-general, in Midrand this week for the launch of the AA's local technician apprenticeship programme and to highlight a new "Make Roads Safe" global campaign.
"I must thank the FIA foundation for having this Make Roads Safe campaign and for making me a global ambassador because it has opened my eyes to the reality of the problems we face," said Yeoh.
"I have come to understand how complacent we have all been, particularly myself," added the former beauty queen who has travelled the world on a fact-finding trip collecting information to shoot a documentary for the United Nations. Filming took place in Cape Town this week.
"I have seen the most horrendous sites where children, pedestrians are facing death sentences practically every day," she said.
"I hope that, together with the FIA, we will be able to wave a big enough flag in the face of authorities to do more in terms of road planning and implementation of laws," added the star whose films include Memoirs of a Geisha and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Todt, who brought Michael Schumacher to Ferrari and enjoyed considerable success with the now retired German over the past decade, said he loves South Africa and its people.
"I was really very happy at first when I heard about the possibility to do something with the FIA Foundation and South Africa. My last visit to South Africa was over 30 years ago. I was participating in a rally, the Total rally - it was a great experience.
"I love this country, the people, so it was very rewarding for Ferrari to offer this internship to one of your guys to visit the Ferrari factory for a week," he said.
For the next four years, the AA training academy's best apprentice will spend time in Ferrari's legendary Maranello factory in northern Italy, where he or she will have a chance to learn from some of the best technicians in the industry.
Todt spoke of the wonderful contributions by South African Jody Scheckter, who was the last champion for Ferrari in 1979 before a 21-year drought until Michael Schumacher won five titles in a row from 2000.
He also hailed the contribution of designer Rory Byrne to the Ferrari revival. "His was an outstanding contribution to the success of Ferrari," he said.
"He [Byrne] still has family in South Africa. He has a special love for his country and is an excellent ambassador for your country in Formula One."
Ed Kok, the outgoing managing director of the AA, said: "To have personalities like Jean, Michelle and David here for the launch demonstrates the profile that South Africa enjoys in the rest of the world.
"Ferrari and the FIA Foundation have played a key role in allowing the AA to set up this programme.
"African countries have some of the worst road death statistics in the world, and the AA is committed, as a true voice of the South Africa traveller, to work on addressing these challenges as often as we can.
"Being able to do it with organisations like the FIA and Ferrari is essential if we are to raise the profile of the Make Roads Safe campaign locally," he said.
Kok said the link-up between Ferrari and the AA shows how the association is looking at innovative ways to tackle the many challenges in the automotive sector in South Africa, whether it be encouraging more people into apprenticeship training, allowing for a better vehicle care infrastructure, or cutting down the unacceptable road death toll in the country.
Rob Cleary, the head of the training academy at the AA, said the lack of qualified workshop staff has been having a dramatic impact on the motoring industry, with the cost of comebacks, warranty repair, lack of technological know-how and customer satisfaction all playing a huge role in driving overheads up at service centres across the country, with estimated costs running into the millions.
"The largest challenge facing the industry at the moment is that we are not encouraging young apprentices into the profession. Our research shows that only 15 percent of qualified technicians are younger than 35 years old," he said.
AA research shows that the average age of technicians in South Africa is 38, with the majority having qualified at the age of 20.
"We have seen significant technological advancement in the industry over the past 15 years, with computer skills becoming critical," said Cleary.
"Understanding of modern vehicle management systems and electronic diagnostics are essential skills for the modern-day technician," he noted.
Cleary said the AA hoped that a tie-up with Ferrari would encourage more young people into the profession. "We estimate that there is a shortfall of nearly 1 000 technicians every year in the industry at the moment and something needs to be done to get more apprentice learners into a certified training programme, as well as grow the number of facilities where these apprentices can be trained."
Since the AA Training Academy's inception in 2006, the AA has produced 250 graduates, and a further 600 are currently training in the programme.
He noted that, despite the current slowdown in the market, the boom in vehicle sales from 2002 meant that the number of vehicles on the road had grown substantially in the past decade and the skills required to care for and maintain these vehicles is not keeping up with demand.
The celebrity couple was joined by David Ward, the global Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Foundation director-general, in Midrand this week for the launch of the AA's local technician apprenticeship programme and to highlight a new "Make Roads Safe" global campaign.
"I must thank the FIA foundation for having this Make Roads Safe campaign and for making me a global ambassador because it has opened my eyes to the reality of the problems we face," said Yeoh.
"I have come to understand how complacent we have all been, particularly myself," added the former beauty queen who has travelled the world on a fact-finding trip collecting information to shoot a documentary for the United Nations. Filming took place in Cape Town this week.
"I have seen the most horrendous sites where children, pedestrians are facing death sentences practically every day," she said.
"I hope that, together with the FIA, we will be able to wave a big enough flag in the face of authorities to do more in terms of road planning and implementation of laws," added the star whose films include Memoirs of a Geisha and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Todt, who brought Michael Schumacher to Ferrari and enjoyed considerable success with the now retired German over the past decade, said he loves South Africa and its people.
"I was really very happy at first when I heard about the possibility to do something with the FIA Foundation and South Africa. My last visit to South Africa was over 30 years ago. I was participating in a rally, the Total rally - it was a great experience.
"I love this country, the people, so it was very rewarding for Ferrari to offer this internship to one of your guys to visit the Ferrari factory for a week," he said.
For the next four years, the AA training academy's best apprentice will spend time in Ferrari's legendary Maranello factory in northern Italy, where he or she will have a chance to learn from some of the best technicians in the industry.
Todt spoke of the wonderful contributions by South African Jody Scheckter, who was the last champion for Ferrari in 1979 before a 21-year drought until Michael Schumacher won five titles in a row from 2000.
He also hailed the contribution of designer Rory Byrne to the Ferrari revival. "His was an outstanding contribution to the success of Ferrari," he said.
"He [Byrne] still has family in South Africa. He has a special love for his country and is an excellent ambassador for your country in Formula One."
Ed Kok, the outgoing managing director of the AA, said: "To have personalities like Jean, Michelle and David here for the launch demonstrates the profile that South Africa enjoys in the rest of the world.
"Ferrari and the FIA Foundation have played a key role in allowing the AA to set up this programme.
"African countries have some of the worst road death statistics in the world, and the AA is committed, as a true voice of the South Africa traveller, to work on addressing these challenges as often as we can.
"Being able to do it with organisations like the FIA and Ferrari is essential if we are to raise the profile of the Make Roads Safe campaign locally," he said.
Kok said the link-up between Ferrari and the AA shows how the association is looking at innovative ways to tackle the many challenges in the automotive sector in South Africa, whether it be encouraging more people into apprenticeship training, allowing for a better vehicle care infrastructure, or cutting down the unacceptable road death toll in the country.
Rob Cleary, the head of the training academy at the AA, said the lack of qualified workshop staff has been having a dramatic impact on the motoring industry, with the cost of comebacks, warranty repair, lack of technological know-how and customer satisfaction all playing a huge role in driving overheads up at service centres across the country, with estimated costs running into the millions.
"The largest challenge facing the industry at the moment is that we are not encouraging young apprentices into the profession. Our research shows that only 15 percent of qualified technicians are younger than 35 years old," he said.
AA research shows that the average age of technicians in South Africa is 38, with the majority having qualified at the age of 20.
"We have seen significant technological advancement in the industry over the past 15 years, with computer skills becoming critical," said Cleary.
"Understanding of modern vehicle management systems and electronic diagnostics are essential skills for the modern-day technician," he noted.
Cleary said the AA hoped that a tie-up with Ferrari would encourage more young people into the profession. "We estimate that there is a shortfall of nearly 1 000 technicians every year in the industry at the moment and something needs to be done to get more apprentice learners into a certified training programme, as well as grow the number of facilities where these apprentices can be trained."
Since the AA Training Academy's inception in 2006, the AA has produced 250 graduates, and a further 600 are currently training in the programme.
He noted that, despite the current slowdown in the market, the boom in vehicle sales from 2002 meant that the number of vehicles on the road had grown substantially in the past decade and the skills required to care for and maintain these vehicles is not keeping up with demand.
- This article was originally published on page 6 of The Sunday Independent on June 29, 2008
Johannesburg
