Siemens Kicks Off New Digital Training Programs

Siemens Kicks Off New Digital Training Programs
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About 1,400 apprentices and university students in work-study programs started their professional careers at 23 Siemens locations in Germany. Together with their Mobility and Healthineers companies, Siemens is continuing its training program in full despite the coronavirus crisis. Training at Siemens Energy will be continued separately.

Nearly 1,190 young people who are being trained for Siemens’ own needs will be joined at Professional Education by about 190 participants from the company’s external partners. But the 2020 training year was hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. “Our training program faced tremendous new challenges, but our efforts were rewarded with very good results,“ said Thomas Leubner, head of the Learning and Education Department.

“We continued our training activities without interruption. To make it happen, we upgraded the program’s digital setup by leveraging the digital expertise of our company and our trainers,“ Leubner added. In just a few weeks, virtual tools, platforms, software and simulations were acquired, a trainer community was set up and a virtual online curriculum was prepared and continuously developed. “By creating digital learning plans and weekly schedules and establishing direct communications between students and trainers via live seminars and virtual teaching units, learning transfer and, most importantly, social contact can be maintained,“ explained Leubner.

“We’ve also redesigned our training concept,“ said Barbara Ofstad, head of Siemens Professional Education in Germany. Trainers increasingly serve as mentors and coaches, using digital methods to create a mix of virtual and real, face-to-face learning environments. “The new teaching methods have been well received by apprentices and work-study participants and will continue to play an important role in the future,“ continued Ofstad.

Siemens’ application process has been digital for many years now. On the new training website, applicants can continue to apply online and also directly via their mobile devices. Since the website was launched in May 2020, more than 100,000 prospective applicants have visited the homepage, more than half via mobile devices. Onsite training is slowly starting to pick up again, with coordinated safety measures now in place.

The primary focus of this year’s training will be on technical and IT professions, with about 87 percent of the participants preparing for occupations in one of those two fields. For the first time, nearly 50 percent of the training positions are for university students in work-study programs. While apprentices pursue certification from the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK), work-study participants complete their studies with a bachelor’s degree in engineering or science with focuses also on newly created job profiles. With a total of around 10,400 apprentices and students around the world, Siemens has one of the private sector’s largest training programs worldwide.