Early insights into the industry

KS Kolbenschmidt GmbH has entered into an educational partnership in the industrial occupational field with the Ludwig-Frohnhäuser-Schule (primary and secondary school with practical focus) in Bad Wimpfen. The aim of this partnership is to provide young people with an insight into the industry at a young age and to familiarize them with the organization, work procedures, processes and working methods of an industrial company. They will also be given information about training opportunities and about application strategies, inhibition should be reduced, thereby increasing decision-making powers for the later selection of a profession and increasing chances if applying for a traineeship. The pupils will have the opportunity to gain experience in a real working environment outside of the school.

Year 8 pupils at the school in Wimpfen can participate in up to three thematic modules at Kolbenschmidt. These range from an initial event, primarily oriented to provide introductory information to a theme-related module in which the focus is on both the development of young people's presentation skills as well as the provision of technical engine expertise and an internship of a maximum of one week in the manufacturing department of the Neckarsulm-based supplying company.

For students with a Certificate of Secondary Education, the company in Neckarsulm offers training in machining, industrial, foundry and tool engineers as well as warehouse logistics specialists. KS Kolbenschmidt currently employs about 40 trainees and appoints around six to seven new trainees per year in the professions mentioned. A total of approximately 80 trainees are employed in all the Group companies at the Neckarsulm location.

“Fit for life” thanks to alliance between school and company

KS Kolbenschmidt and KS Aluminium-Technologie have entered into an educational partnership in the industrial occupational field with the Horneckschule school in Gundelsheim. The aim of the collaboration agreement with the primary, secondary and intermediate secondary school is to provide young people with an insight into the working world at a young age. They are also familiarized with the organization, work procedures, processes and working methods of an industrial company.

Successful cooperation between ATAG and Wittenstein bastian - innovative technical training project

A cooperation in the field of training has been entered into by KS Aluminium-Technologie GmbH in Neckarsulm and Wittenstein bastian GmbH based in Fellbach and implemented in a pilot project. Wittenstein bastian GmbH, a Wittenstein AG company, is a specialist in the field of gearing technology and produces spur gears, bevel gears and modules for internal gearing.

The joint project was started with a mutual exchange of trainees. Two trainees from Wittenstein bastian visited the Neckarsulm company for a week and gained an insight into the foundry, production and maintenance areas. They experienced close-up the manufacture of cylinder blocks and found out what requirements are expected of a series-production supplier in the automotive industry.?In return, two trainees from Neckarsulm were at the company in Fellbach for a week. Seeing the procedures and conditions of mechanical processing in gearing technology was a new and interesting experience for both trainees.

The aim of this collaboration is to gain experience and understanding of different production procedures and to develop specific solution techniques for problems. This has important advantages when dealing with colleagues, machines and systems in the future. The mutual learning experience also promotes understanding of the work and challenges that other colleagues in different companies face.

Forming a network between different training companies provides new methods in training and promotes the social responsibility of the young employees. This improves the quality of the training on both sides.

Training cooperation between VW Chemnitz and Pierburg Pump Technology

Pierburg Pump Technology GmbH (PPT) in Hartha (Döbeln), part of the KSPG Group, collaborates with the Volkswagen AG Chemnitz location for training its future talents and thereby increases the number of trainee places.

This collaboration with the Volkswagen education institution, now defined in a composite contract, is based on combined training which will take place partially at VW in Chemnitz and also at PPT in Hartha. The VW educational institution, founded in 1991, is Saxony's competence center for vocational training, further education and consulting, and is a partner of the international automotive and supplier industry among other things. It employs 96 people.

The electric motor and pump manufacturer based in the district of Döbeln can offer this innovative modular training to a total of eleven new trainees. In subsequent years until 2013, the number of trainee positions offered at the Hartha plant will be further increased to 33. The professions ?mechatronics engineer, machining mechanic and materials tester will be offered. For mobile young people who want to make the most of this established training at a leading German automotive manufacturer, this combination provides an opportunity that is out of the ordinary in the region of Hartha.

The PPT company in Hartha works on virtually the same machines as those used in the VW training center. VW thereby ensures the employees a level of training that is oriented to current and future machine technology. This makes a lot of things much easier during and especially after the training.

After completion of three to three-and-a-half years of continuous training, the chances of being offered a job at Pierburg Pump Technology are not bad, all trainees have been taken on over the past years. This confidence is justified not least by the specialization of the company (located on Sonnenstraße), since electrical coolant pumps of different sizes and with different performances are manufactured in Hartha and these are also used in future motor concepts such as hybrids, electric vehicles or fuel cell drives, for example.

The Hartha location drew the attention of international specialists in 2004 when the first fully electric coolant pump for BMW 6 cylinder engines went into production here. Now a million-selling water circulating pump developed in Hartha itself is manufactured and used for different engine cooling tasks or in the vehicle.

Experiments in chemistry lessons

Since November 2010, pupils at the Unterlüß primary and secondary school have been able to experience chemical phenomena, such as invisible ink using lemon juice, by experimenting themselves. This is possible thanks to an experiment box with chemistry experiments for science classes.

With the project "Experiment box - my first practical chemistry set", Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH (RWM) once again makes a contribution to encouraging young children's enthusiasm for scientific questions. The aim is to support primary school teachers with the integration of chemistry topics into science classes and to provide them with a "tool" with which they can carry out exciting experiments with their pupils. At the same time as the experiment box, the educational institution with its current total of 250 pupils receives the protective clothing required; and so that the children can continue to carry out experiments long-term, the partner school is then also equipped with high-quality consumable supplies.

The partnership between the school and the industry makes an immediate contribution to the improved qualification of future workers - quite apart from the fact that young people and potential vocational training companies or future employers can get to know each other before a possible career start.

On the subject of getting to know each other: The cooperation, which has now been running for two years, offers the pupils various opportunities to experience RWM's work at the Unterlüß location themselves, especially the work of the trainees. Pupils usually encounter the company for the first time in year 7 or 8 as part of a class trip to the company. Here, pupils have the opportunity to see different work areas, with trainee positions presented in particular. When visiting the company, particular significance is also accorded to viewing the trainee workshop where all trainees learn the basic skills of metal processing.

Those young people who are interested then have the opportunity in year 8 and 9 to gain their first practical experience in a two-week industrial internship in a specific area of the company. For those who have completed year 9 and 10, there is then the offer of what are referred to as practical experience days: These involve the young people spending one day a week in the trainee workshop for six months, completing tasks from the training material of the first training year.?This is where the long-term aim of the campaign reveals itself, with RWM simultaneously further strengthening the cooperation with the Unterlüß primary and secondary school that has existed since December 2008. The principal aim of the collaboration is to support the pupils at the Unterlüß secondary school with the process of deciding on a career and with the transition to working life using a real encounter with the working world. Within the framework of different measures and offers, the young people get an insight into the professional world which could provide new perspectives when they come to select a profession.