Ferrari came out on top in a study, released today, of graduates from the best Italian universities. The Prancing Horse topped the Universum Graduate Survey 2006, a classification of the company that most would like to work for. Stockholm's Universum Communications, the noted international institute of consultancy and research, found that in Italy, Ferrari was adjudged first and second in the ideal workplaces among engineering, science and economics students.

The 4,753 Italian students interviewed took many factors into account in electing Ferrari the best company, These included stimulating work, international career opportunities, open dialogue between staff members, a balance between the professional and the private spheres and the level of retribution. Among engineering students, Ferrari, as well as maintaining its first place, increased its popularity from 27.5% of preferences in 2005 to 30.5% in 2006.

"It is not a surprise", observed Carlo Duraturo, regional director of the Italian area of Universum Communications. "Our experience shows us that engineering students are primarily interested in factors such as 'innovative solutions' and 'interesting products' that, as our data demonstrates, are Ferrari's strong points. Analysis of the results reveals that Ferrari also scores well in other fields like 'market success' and 'the company environment'.

Ferrari's positive image does not only stem from the reputation built on the commercial success of its roadgoing cars and that earned on the track. Supporting all of this is the careful attention paid to the staff. This year, in the analysis of the company environment, the staff stated that they were very satisfied with their working life, indeed they expressed a rating of satisfaction equivalent to 72 points out of 100.
 

The Ferrari philosophy, focused on the needs of the staff and named 'Formula Uomo', puts the 2,800 staff at the core of the company. The workforce has an average age of 37 and, among the white collar workers, 51% are graduates. There are a host of initiatives aimed at training, safety, culture and improving well-being.

The Ferrari training programme last year amounted to 120,000 hours. The objective of the programme is to promote the staff's professional and personal growth within the organisation. It also promotes the company's values and strives to strengthen innovative capacity through 'Creativity Club' sessions. In the area of health and well-being, a broad programme has been set up in collaboration with specialist Med-ex medical staff sponsored by CONI. This includes visits to the company's health centre, information drives, preventative measures, annual check ups and fitness sessions with a personal trainer in a gym covered by the plan.

Testimony to the attention paid to young talent, Ferrari has developed, over the years, a close rapport with schools of management and faculties of Engineering, Aerospace, Management and Economics and Commerce from the leading Italian, European and US universities. This relationship is based on cultural exchange, scholarships and work experience for new graduates.