[email protected]

Objective

To provide youth across Europe with apprenticeship opportunities and to help them start successful careers at Siemens in their home country.

Overview and Main Activities

The programme offers apprenticeships for 30 young Europeans in Germany to prepare them for careers in electronics fields, including industrial and mechatronics engineering. Following the German dual education system, the programme, which takes three-and-a-half years, combines theoretical training with working experience. Roughly one third of the time is spent in the classroom focusing on theory, but also on integrative work skills such as English. This part is provided by the state-run vocational school system. The second third is spent at the Siemens training centre where apprentices apply skills in a safe learning environment. This includes anything from basic manual skills to sophisticated project tasks that integrate various fields of expertise, e.g. the set-up of a mechatronic system. The final third is spent in work-place assignments, i.e. in the operational departments of the company. This provides apprentices with real-life applications of theoretical and training-centre content. Training is curriculum-based and apprentices are assessed against weekly learning objectives. As final examinations are taken in German, intensive German courses are mandatory for the first six weeks upon the start of the programme.

Apprentices are recruited by Siemens regional companies in participants’ home countries and are fully employed by Siemens Germany during the apprenticeship. While Siemens Germany provides the dual vocational education and training (VET), the state operates the vocational school, and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry administer the formative assessment and final exams. Upon graduation, participants return to their home countries, where most of them get offered a job with Siemens.

In addition to the [email protected] programme, Siemens also provides apprenticeships for 1,000 youth in six European countries outside Germany. These programmes are locally adapted, but adopt the principle of duality, i.e. the combination of theory taught in classrooms with applied learning in training centres and the work place. It is this particular duality that creates the more effective, business-relevant and sustainable learning experience. Siemens obtains needed skill sets that are operational from day one. Learners obtain employability and a smooth transition from education to work. Societies obtain youth employment and competitiveness.

Success Factors and Challenges

Most critical success factors:

• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Skills needs of Siemens regional companies
• Community support
• Leadership commitment

Main challenges:

• Costs of additional tuition (e.g. German-language course, intercultural training) and benefits (e.g. accommodation) that Siemens provides to participants
• Age of participants; most are going abroad for the first time
• Selling an education programme in countries where it is not known, or where it might have a less favourable image than at home requires significant candidate-marketing activities

Recommendations for Others

This initiative is complex, costly and designed to be long-term. To succeed, it is essential to have top-level management commitment and sponsorship, expertise and experience and support from regional entities of the organization.

Such an initiative should not be pursued only for CSR aspects. Due to the massive investment needed, it can only succeed if there is a clear business need for and a clear local scarcity of the competencies in question.

Replicability and Scalability

How easily could other organizations implement this initiative?
Difficult: Long experience in and a good command of the classical German dual VET system are needed.

How easily can this initiative be expanded to include a larger number of participants?
Very difficult: Taking the learner to another country is relatively expensive so local education-reform initiatives are necessary. In addition, young learners should have access to dual VET in their home countries.

About the Organization

Website: www.siemens.com
Sector: Information Technology
Size (number of employees): 100,000+
Headquarters: Munich, Germany

For Further Engagement

Contact name: Jürgen Siebel
Contact position: Head of International Business
Email: [email protected]