Automakers dive into new talent pools

At age 15, British computer whiz Mikel Bober-Irizar cuts an odd profile as a student leader in an online self-driving car engineering course. In the semianonymous world of e-learning, he codes alongside Ph.D.s and veteran developers from around the world for hours on end -- even if it means frustrating his friends by choosing to do lessons over hanging out with them. "My dad is very much into computer science. He got me my first laptop when I was 5 years old," said Bober-Irizar. "I've learned to teach myself things, figure out how to do them by just doing it." Not bad for a kid who can't even drive. Bober-Irizar's interest in autonomous vehicle technology doesn't come from a childhood of playing with Hot Wheels, but from a deep interest in computer science honed through competitive online challenges. He's one of countless engineers and hobbyists who lack what one recruiter calls "pedigree experience" but offer a potential source of new talent for companies desperate to staff rapidly expanding au-tonomous vehicle programs. Today, automakers and suppliers are stymied because the academic institutions and programs needed to train autonomous vehicle developers are either slow to adapt or nonexistent. "We don't have enough programs, we don't have enough courses and instructors, and we're just one industry," said Kristin Dziczek, director of the Industry, Labor and Economics group at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. The course Bober-Irizar is enrolled in, run by e-learning company Udacity, has received 20,000 applications since it launched late last year. It has accepted a quarter of those applicants. While many of the students may lack the resume one would expect to work on self-driving vehicles, they possess a fascination with artificial intelligence and a belief in using technology to improve the human condition. "It's not about the self-driving car," said Bober-Irizar. "It's about artificial intelligence, automation. I want to do something that helps the world."■ Rapid growthCompanies must seek out talent, not wait for applications to roll in Aggressive targets to bring self-driving vehicles to market have left the industry scrambling for engineers with skills in robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and related fields. "The biggest challenge is the speed and the rate of growth," said Sherif Marakby, vice president of global vehicle programs at Uber who spent 25 years at Ford Motor Co. "The size of the pool is very good, but at the same time, the growth rate that we need still exceeds the capability to recruit people." Companies have responded by cultivating Silicon Valley-like cultures, betting on startups, such as Ford's billion-dollar investment in Argo AI, and spending lavishly to court talent. Depending on skill level, engineers in this realm can earn $100,000 to $200,000 a year. Competing on compensation, though, only goes so far. "Financial capital isn't the constraint. It's the talent. It's the knowledge worker," said Bill Huffaker, global director of talent acquisition at General Motors. Huffaker compares headhunting for hard-to-fill fields such as artificial intelligence to how "a supply chain would source materials." Last year, GM brought its recruitment largely in-house. It started by having engineering leads assess possible candidates, and built an internal database by scouring sources such as LinkedIn and conference speaker listings for potential hires. With such high demand, recruiters can't wait for applications to roll in, Huffaker says. "It's very different these days," he said. "Roughly 25 percent of people are looking for jobs. Seventy-five percent of candidates, you need to go after them." The main source for talent starts in the university system. "One of the biggest challenges for companies looking to hire self-driving car engineers is that there is only a tiny segment of the work force that's already been trained in this area," wrote Sebastian Thrun, founder of Udacity and Google's original autonomous car program, in an email interview.■ Ground zeroCarnegie Mellon tries to deal with a 'flood of companies' A prime spot to witness the talent war firsthand is at university career fairs, where physical constraints can often pose the biggest challenges.

Automakers dive into new talent pools

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