Eighty-two young people start apprentice training at Brose

Eighty-two young people set off on their professional career at the automotive supplier Brose when the new training year began: sixty-one began their apprentice training on September 1 in one of the total of eight industrial/technical and commercial vocations. Thirty-eight are undergoing training at the Coburg and Hallstadt locations, 18 in Würzburg, three in Wuppertal, one in Berlin and one in Sindelfingen. Brose Gastronomie GmbH in Hallstadt is also training a young woman as a chef.

From October 1 on, a further 21 junior members of staff at the Coburg, Hallstadt, Wuppertal and Würzburg locations will commence degree courses in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and industrial engineering at a university of cooperative education. More and more school students are choosing this demanding and practical qualification model, since it combines university attendance with assignments at the company.

“We regard apprentice training as a key component in developing junior employees. Sound training at an international company like Brose offers young people highly promising job prospects in Germany and abroad,” stresses Michael Stammberger, head of apprentice training at Brose.

And it has long since not been enough just to give apprentices an excellent grounding in their subject area: “A modern and successful apprentice training concept fosters and demands technical and social skills alike,” he adds.

That is why sending trainees abroad to Brose locations in Europe and overseas for several weeks or months is a firm part of Brose’s concept. Participation in the program is voluntary. A stay abroad is obligatory only for industrial engineering students from the universities of cooperative education.The costs for flights, subsistence and accommodation are paid by the company. Throughout the assignment, the young people are supervised by a personal contact person – on site and at their home location.

“Under this program we are developing junior employees who are open to international assignments and ideally prepared for them,” says Stammberger. The focus is not only on vocational qualification, but also on personal development.

As a globally operating company, Brose needs employees who display assurance in cooperating internationally and have an open attitude towards other cultures.

And because knowledge of languages is indispensable in the age of globalization, Brose has integrated English as a subject in its internal training in all vocations. As Michael Stammberger notes: “We want to make sure that even our youngest employees are able to work at international locations without any language barriers when they complete their training.”

To meet the wide range of requirements, the language is also taught to reflect the technical vocation in question: the industrial clerks and information technologists make up one group, the technical product designers, machine tool technicians and machine and plant operators another, and there is one group each for the mechatronics and electronics engineers. The weekly lesson focuses on speaking extemporaneously. The young people discuss vocation-related issues or give presentations.

It all starts with getting to know each other

A four-day introductory seminar was staged at the Weihermühle Youth Club in Mainleus near Kulmbach for Brose apprentices in the first week of September to launch them on their career. This was followed at the end of the week by a one-day introductory event at which Periklis Nassios, head of the Seat Systems Business Division, welcomed Brose’s new members at the Coburg location.

The young people were familiarized with the company, its training operations and the New Brose Organizational Model. They learned more details about their future training in group work. And they also had time to get to know each other at a sports tournament.

Around 240 apprentices and university of cooperative education students are currently learning an occupation at the Brose Group. Ninety-seven are located at Coburg, 49 in Hallstadt, 14 in Wuppertal, 69 in Würzburg, six in Berlin and one in Sindelfingen.