Following its launch last month at the SMMT’s Industry Forum Youth Summit, kaizenracing.co.uk, the new on-line game for young people that encourages them to consider a rewarding career in the motor industry, is in pole position to become this season’s success story.
Recently showcased to huge numbers of visitors to the British International Motor Show where the Automotive Academy was exhibiting within the Careers Village section at ExCeL London, the fun educational game challenges players to negotiate their way round a racing circuit and through the pits, replenishing fuel and tyres as they go.
Alan Begg, the Academy chief executive said, ‘This fantastic initiative, whilst being fun, also serves to demonstrate skills and techniques that young people can expect to learn to develop when they take up a role within the motor industry. It has been a huge success since its launch and interest has accelerated at a breathtaking rate – especially noticeable towards the end of the motor show.’
By logging onto www.kaizenracing.co.uk players can participate in a ‘live’ computer game that is enjoyable and competitive whilst incorporating some of the industry lean manufacturing techniques, particularly Workplace Organisation or ‘Kaizen’. At the end of each lap there is a pit stop that requires three operations to be performed on the car. A quick time relies on the selection of the right tool, performing the operation, replenishing the stock of parts and replacing the tool on the tool board. As well as being good workplace practices, a fast lap also requires excellent manual dexterity. The top score on the leader board has been reduced from 1:41.1 on 25 July to a very respectable 1:39.5 to date.
Begg continues, ‘Because the Automotive Academy only delivers training to young people from early 20s upwards, it was important for us to try and capture the attention of this pool of talent for the industry. We believe that the interest and enthusiasm shown in kaizenracing.co.uk so far is proof of it success. In fact it has far exceeded our expectations – we are delighted.’
More than 200,000 young people have now played the game and with schools on holiday, the figure is building at an incredible rate. Nearly 2,000 young people have visited the kaizen racing web site which has helpful links to careers in the motor industry. The ability to pass the game on without having directly to log on to the web site means more and more youngsters are getting a taste for a what a career in this arena could offer.