Contechs puts success down to job creation

Contechs, the automotive design and engineering services provider, turned over £65m last year.

The company is spread across the UK, with locations in Basildon, Essex, where it started in 1997, and Warwick, where it expanded to in 2000, as well as Munich and Cologne in Germany, and India. It started in Basildon with 19 employees, and now employs around 1,000 people.

Pete Jarvis, Contech’s managing director, says the business’s success comes down to its job creation. A large part of this is graduates and apprentices – who make up around 90 employees – almost 10% of the workforce – across the business.

“Apprenticeships are fundamentally what we do,” he says. “We take them on every year without fail; the skills shortage is getting worse”.

The company, which has been shortlisted in The Business Desk’s large business category, takes A-level and AS-level candidates and puts them through a five- or six-year apprentice programme, which is typically worth £400,000 over an employees’ lifetime in degrees and training.

It also recruits from Europe, including Romania, as a Visa-sponsored UK company, which means it can employ individuals where there are job shortages for Visas.

Overall, Contechs has created 250 jobs in the past year. “We attract people, we’re only as good as the people in the business,” Jarvis says. “We empower people – we pay really well and have good bonus structures. We reward individuals, and they feel valued and supported. We keep people from a long while, and we get feedback from everyone who leaves by interviewing them on how we can improve.”

Jarvis says it pays to be such a good employer. “Our sector is buoyant at the moment, and I think we can keep up growth. We appear to be doing the right things, we don’t over-expand, but we’re investing a lot in infrastructure,” he says.

The key to its longevity, Jarvis says, is being dynamic and flexible in its approach. “And if we say something, we deliver it,” Jarvis says.

But while technology is one of key drivers for continuing growth, Contechs also does a lot of work with schools, carrying out training and presentations on manufacturing and design engineering.

“A lot of parents have preconceived ideas about design and manufacturing, that manufacturing is dingy. We make them aware that it’s a clean working environment with a lot of state-of-the-art technology. There’s a lot of computer-based science behind what we do, and it’s a long-term career. There’s a lot of confidence in the sector, and what UK can do outwardly with its ability to design and manufacture.”

But the industry isn’t without its challenges, according to Jarvis.

“There’s also a need for being process-centric, and making sure everything we do is lean and slick, with everything automated. Processes are paramount. A lot of businesses don’t focus on control, but it’s something that never goes away, and we’ve got our finger on the pulse with this,” he says.

The biggest challenge for the automotive sector generally, Jarvis says, is Bexit.

“The main challenges are remaining positive about Brexit – which we are. It’ll give opportunities, and we’re acknowledging that we can’t control what happens. We’re more worried about who gets in the next government, and how that effects business as we currently know it,” Jarvis says.