Training and dual studies are changing – just like the young people who are on their way into the professional world. This insight ran like a common thread through the annual vocational training conference of the German Society for Personnel Management (DGFP) last week. Around 100 people responsible for training from all over Germany met for two days in the training center of the host Siemens Energy in the north-west of Berlin. While the trainees in overalls worked on their workpieces at workbenches and machines behind large glass panes, clearly visible to all participants, moderator Stefan Dietl, himself head of training at the Festo Group, led through the event.
Training: Competence architecture instead of knowledge transfer
Dietl spoke of three major complexes of change: On the one hand, given the speed at which specialist knowledge becomes outdated, vocational training must develop from pure knowledge transfer to the development of a competency architecture. “Trainees need skills such as resilience and creativity,” said Dietl. In addition, “AI is more than a tool”.
In the future, those responsible for training as well as the next generation will need a mindset for the holistic use of AI, as well as – very practically – equipping the trainees with suitable technology and access to AI tools. Dietl’s third point was aimed at better anchoring training in the company – training must deal with specific questions and tasks from the training organization.
Siemens Energy designs its training using “dream teams”
Christoph Kunz, Head of Training at Siemens Energy, explained how this can work. After the company separated from the parent ship Siemens in 2020, the previously “small copy” of traditional Siemens training was thoroughly overhauled. The training concept SEED (stands for Self Directed, Empowered, Engaged and Divers) has been strategically rethought and redesigned based on the needs of the business.
The central point is adapting to the changing needs of young people. “Today, training requires understanding for GenZ,” said Kunz. This generation is characterized by digital oversaturation on the one hand and often overprotection by parents on the other. At the same time, young people are strongly influenced by the corona pandemic and the serious social change with its numerous crises and wars.
One answer to these needs at Siemens Energy is the “dream teams”: “At the beginning of the training, the trainees and dual students are divided into fixed groups. Each group has a constant contact person throughout the entire training period and they are given time and budget for their own activities,” says Kunz. The dream teams and the feeling of belonging, as trainees who proudly presented their latest projects during a tour of the training center, also confirmed, are a very important factor for their well-being and success in their training.
BASF relies on the concept of “strengthening strengths” in training
Other companies are also exploring new ways to counteract the psychological stress and insecurities of young people. Elmar Benne, Vice President Training and Further Education at BASF, believes that young people become aware of their own qualities. “Strengthening strengths in training” is the title of this concept. “The starting point was the observation that many trainees, after graduating from school, are more likely to identify deficits than their own strengths,” said Benne.
Based on positive psychology approaches, young people and managers should be able to recognize, reflect on and use strengths in a targeted manner – for example to promote motivation and self-efficacy and thus make the training process more stable. In the workshop, participants were able to practically try out what it feels like to think about and talk about their own positive professional experiences. “We take this into our everyday training,” was the response from many participants.
This is what training at DB subsidiary InfraGo does
In addition to psychological stress, there is another issue that is causing headaches for those responsible for training: the general assessment was that many young people’s performance and willingness to perform are significantly less pronounced than in previous generations. Targeted support is one way at the railway subsidiary DB InfraGo to deal with the changing skills profile of young people, reported Manuela Lipp, head of young talent management. The prerequisite for this was a precise analysis of the existing deficits based on examination results in order to be able to offer targeted support.
In addition, social workers are hired because “there are issues among young people that our trainers are overwhelmed with.” Such problems, which many training managers reported, include lack of punctuality and high levels of absenteeism. But financial difficulties or being overwhelmed by challenging situations at home also appear to be a problem for many young people.
How can transformation and future skills be taken into account in training?
The other lectures also took into account the changing habits of young people on the one hand and the comprehensive transformation in companies. Emilie Bocke and Christa Winkelhorst from Volksbank im Münsterland showed how preboarding and onboarding for trainees can be structured – from contact points between contract signing and entry to introductory weeks and the takeover phase.
Uwe Geisel, an expert for training development at the automotive supplier Schaeffler, provided an industry-influenced transformation impulse, who reported on a change in strategy in technical training: The development is moving away from classic training workshop logic towards project and situation-related learning and training concepts that are more closely aligned with real industrial requirements.
Christl Fetzer from the logistics company DPD, in turn, focused on the qualification of the trainers themselves. “Future skills in training work are not just digital tools, but above all also a contemporary mindset, new methods and an adapted understanding of communication,” explained Fetzer. The trainers would be specifically qualified for this purpose.
Finally, the change in technology was illustrated by a practical example from retail: those responsible for training at Bauhaus (proper spelling BAUHAUS) have developed a modular training concept for the trainees in around 160 branches, which is accompanied by a specially developed training app as an instrument for year-round monitoring and transparent development control.
Dealing with AI: Training concepts for artificial intelligence
The biggest driver of change today is artificial intelligence. However, this factor has practically not yet been incorporated into vocational training. Michael Assenmacher, who is responsible for the further development of vocational training at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry DIHK, showed a blank slide at the beginning of his lecture. His statement: “There is currently no AI strategy for vocational training at the DIHK – and that’s a good thing!”
There are certainly political considerations to anchor AI in vocational training. But this could quickly lead to the restrictions of the EU AI Act taking effect, warned the expert. In addition, every company can now implement AI training content in addition to the mandatory components. The current set of regulations offers sufficient scope for this, for example with the help of additional qualifications. If the training had to be extended because of this, that would also be legally possible, says Assenmacher.
Another DGFP meeting for training experts in March
After the two face-to-face days, there will be a digital continuation of the annual vocational training conference on March 24th and 26th. Among other things, it deals with challenges in trainee recruiting and REWE’s successful trainee campaign. The question is then discussed as to why many young people prefer to work instead of doing training. Other topics include inclusion in training and school cooperation. The city of Essen and the drugstore chain dm will then present successful examples of how training works in practice.
Christina Petrick-Löhr is responsible for the Talent & Learning magazine section as well as reporting on training and further education. She is also responsible for the editorial planning of various special human resources publications as well as the German Human Resources Prize.
