Nearly 1,400 apprentices and university students in work-study programmes started their professional careers at 23 Siemens locations in Germany on 1 September.

Together with Siemens Mobility and Siemens Healthineers, the company is continuing its training programme in full despite the coronavirus crisis (training at Siemens Energy is continuing separately).

Some 1,190 young people who are being trained for Siemens’ own needs have been joined at Siemens Professional Education by about 190 participants from the company’s external partners.

The 2020 training year was hit hard by the Coronavirus crisis. Thomas Leubner, head of Siemens’ learning and education department, said: “Our training programme faced tremendous new challenges, but our efforts were rewarded with very good results.

“We continued our training activities without interruption, although to make it happen we upgraded the programme’s digital setup by leveraging the digital expertise of our company and our trainers.”

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.”

As in previous years, the primary focus of this year’s training will be on technical and IT professions, with about 87% of the participants preparing for occupations in one of those two fields; and for the first time nearly 50% of the training positions are for university students in work-study programmes.

With a total of around 10,400 apprentices and students in work-study programmes around the world, Siemens has one of the private sector’s largest training programmes world-wide.

In fiscal 2019, Siemens invested more than 227 million euros in the training of young people globally, nearly 176 million euros of which was spent in Germany.