Coburg
2015 training year begins: Worldwide, 101 young adults training for a career at Brose
101 young adults worldwide begin their training at automotive supplier Brose. As of September 1st, 63 young women and men in Germany are learning one of eight different industrial/technical or commercial vocations. Coburg and Hallstadt are training 44 apprentices, Würzburg 17 and Berlin two.
Starting October 1st, a further 29 young professionals in Coburg, Hallstadt and Würzburg will start a dual-track studies program in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, business administration and engineering, and business information systems. This demanding, practically-oriented training program is possible thanks to a cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University and the Coburg University of Applied Sciences. It combines university attendance with assignments at the company.
Five young adults have begun their training in Querétaro, Mexico to become tool and die makers and mechatronics technicians. Detroit, USA welcomed four new mechatronics technician trainees.
“Training is a key component of our young talent development program. We have high expectations again this year for our applicants in terms of academic performance and social skills. The young adults who personally convinced us of their potential during the hiring process can look forward to receiving solid vocational training at Brose. But that’s not all: our young trainees will find a wide range of promising career perspectives both here and abroad in our international corporate group,” explains Michael Stammberger, head of the Brose Group’s apprenticeship program.
Support on many levels
The training concept challenges apprentices while fostering both professional and social skills. Regularly scheduled language courses and stays abroad at company locations in Europe or overseas for several weeks or months further develop these skills.
Another key component is the use of digital media. “We are already in the process of adapting the content and methods of our industrial/technical apprenticeships to meet the demands coming from production and development. For example, only a few years ago the focus of “mechatronics” as an occupational field was still on manual production technologies, welding techniques or electrical control systems. Today the focus is on networked activities such as transmitting data directly from the CAD system to the CNC machine, programming or linking machine elements using state-of-the-art control technology,” explains Stammberger.
However, manual skills are still required and trained. Digital media and IT learning systems such as e-learning or learning with iPads are already standard methods included in vocational education and training at Brose.
Training with a quality seal
The German Vocational Training Association (DBA e.V.) certified quality excellence again this year with the “DBA-Cert Quality Seal”. “The certificate shows applicants that our apprenticeship program delivers on its promise,” underscores Stammberger.
Apprentices from German locations take part in a four-day orientation seminar at the Weihermühle Youth Center in Mainleus near Kulmbach to help launch their career. The seminar is designed to introduce the young people to the company and the working environment. They work in groups to learn more about the content of their future training.
Brose currently has a total of 350 apprentices in training worldwide. Starting in 2016, the family-owned company will begin training nearly 50 apprentices annually at the production site in Taicang, China to become tool and die makers, industrial mechanics and mechatronics technicians.