Our successful apprenticeship scheme has recently been put under the spotlight as part of a BBC feature on British Science Week (8-17 March). The annual celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths allowed us to showcase the positive attributes of our long-running apprenticeship programme.

Run in collaboration with Northampton College, the scheme offers credible placements for students looking to forge a career in engineering with Cosworth. As firm advocates of young people studying STEM subjects, we were delighted to discuss our activities with BBC journalist Tom Percival, and to put some of our current apprentices and graduates in front of the microphone in a live interview setting.

First up was Yvette Witcombe, Business Development Executive from Northampton College, who set the scene: “Apprenticeships are a very different beast from what they once were: they’re far more flexible, far more recognised and far more worthy in a lot of people’s eyes. Lots of young people want to work for Cosworth because it is an exceptionally well-recognised brand across the world.”

Of our current apprentices, Tom heard from Callum Jervis, Tom Ward and Gabby Maia, all of whom gave a good account of themselves – and the business. “Working at Cosworth has been great,” said Callum, whose mentor Steve Smith was also on hand to explain the benefits of our apprenticeship initiative.

“It’s always a pleasure to work with young apprentices as keen as Callum,” he said. To succeed in this industry, you need enthusiasm without a doubt. That’s key, as well as a willingness to work as an individual as well as part of an incredible team – it sounds contradictory, but that’s how it is sometimes. There are a few hundred people who work at Cosworth and we’re all going towards the same target: if one of those cogs isn’t working, then the product isn’t there at the end of the day.”

It’s not just apprentices who can thrive in our working environment. Graduates, too, form an important part of the workforce. “I always wanted to be an inventor as a kid,” said Hazel Coates, Graduate Design Engineer. “I’ve always liked making things and being creative and doing arty things and that combined with a love of science. When I was in school it seemed like the perfect combination to become an engineer.

I did some work experience at Cosworth after my first year of studying for a few weeks and found that really interesting. Engineering as a whole is just applying science and understanding to making cool things. When I went to university and chose an engineering degree, I still wasn’t aware of how much it would allow me to do. It’s only at the end of it you realise you’ve got really good skills – which I’m putting to good use at Cosworth!”

Listen back to all the interviews on the BBC Sounds website or app: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p070ql7k