A year ago, the situation was far less rosy: The group had just finished their apprenticeships. Given the tight economic environment, the chances of 51 young people being offered jobs were slim. But the company wanted to keep them on: partly because it had invested time and effort in three and a half years of apprentice training, and partly because the changing demographic means that young employees will be urgently needed in the future. “Our personnel planning is geared to the long term to allow us to train line operators and maintenance technicians for our company,” explains Klaus-Peter Hennig, Labor Director at ThyssenKrupp Nirosta. “In addition to a solid apprenticeship, it’s important that the knowledge and experience of older workers is passed on to younger employees. This is therefore a logical continuation of our demographic project ‘Young and old for Nirosta’.

Under the theoretical part of the program, the chamber of commerce provided training in areas such as training qualifications under Germany’s Ordinance on Trainer Aptitude (AEVO), quality management, business administration and materials basics. In the practical part, the young people were trained by instructors in the technological fundamentals of the respective areas. The newly acquired knowledge was then combined in a final team project: at the end of the program, teams of five participants each presented a company quality project.

“With this qualification from the chamber of commerce and their training as instructors, program participants are well equipped to handle the complex challenges of the labor market. We are delighted that through this innovative training package the Central Lower Rhine Chamber of Industry and Commerce has been able to help apprentices from ThyssenKrupp Nirosta improve their career prospects,” says Dr. Frank Lorenz, Director of Training and Further Education at the Chamber.

Krefeld’s employment agency supported this program by covering the costs of training. For the duration of the program it also paid participants short-time working compensation (60 or 67 percent of the net wage). Christopher Meier, Director of Operations at the Krefeld employment agency, praised the innovative nature of the program: “The example of ThyssenKrupp Nirosta demonstrates the success of cooperation between the Krefeld employment agency and the company. This project showed that even in difficult economic times, training and further education is key to the success of the employees and the company. Both sides have benefited: The young women and men have secured jobs, and ThyssenKrupp Nirosta has retained its own, highly qualified young talents.”

“We have met our goals in full: Further training for the young people, bridging difficult economic times, and now the opportunity to give permanent jobs to highly qualified young employees,” says Lothar Brunner, Chief Human Resources Officer at ThyssenKrupp Nirosta.