Heidelberg’s Apprenticeship Churns Out Top-notch Employees
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) offers training that young people enjoy, complete very successfully, and which also leads to many of them making a career in the company.
On 1 September, 2023, alone, around 150 young women and men will start their training or dual study programme at HEIDELBERG. The experience of recent years also shows that 98% of them remain with the company after successfully completing their training and some even receive an award for their training achievements.
Training still occupies an important place in the company. “In times when many companies are struggling with a shortage of skilled workers, we at HEIDELBERG focus on good training, which is often the starting point for a career in the company,” says HEIDELBERG CEO Dr. Ludwin Monz. In total, the company offers training in fourteen occupational profiles at four different locations in Germany: from the fields of electronics and industrial mechanics, to the highly sought-after specialist IT and warehouse logistics, to the broad field of mechatronics, media technology, and materials testing. In addition, there are a large number of dual courses of study in the fields of business administration, technology, and IT.
The stories of many long-standing employees show that apprentices make their way in the company. Achim Mergenthaler, now Head of Operations and a member of the top management team, is a good example of how an apprenticeship at HEIDELBERG can take you all the way to the top. He began his professional career in 1982 with an apprenticeship as a toolmaker at HEIDELBERG, then deepened his knowledge with a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Applied Sciences in Mannheim and returned to the company afterwards. He made his way via international stations, including China. “HEIDELBERG was the best decision of my life professionally,” says Mergenthaler. “The challenging training with a lot of responsibility right from the start, the good management style combined with my own motivation to want to make a difference, it was just a great fit.”
To ensure that such steps are also possible in the future, HEIDELBERG continuously adapts its internal training courses to changing requirements. That is why today’s trainees not only learn how to work in the age of digitalisation, but also what role artificial intelligence will play in their professional field in the future. Stations abroad are also possible to strengthen intercultural competence. “We make an attractive and high-quality training offer to young people with an interest in future topics. We offer junior staff a long-term perspective at HEIDELBERG and in an exciting industry,” adds Dr. Monz.
