OREANDA-NEWS. 100 years of apprentice workshops at Bosch. On April 1, 1913, Robert Bosch founded his company’s first occupational training department. Since then, more than 100,000 young men and women have begun their professional lives with training programs at Bosch, the global supplier of technology and services. That is more people than Berlin’s Olympic Stadium can hold. Back then, it was the first time that apprentices had been trained in a workshop to ensure consistent quality standards. Today, more than 6,500 young people around the world are in occupational training programs at Bosch, roughly 4,500 of them in Germany. A concept that began in Stuttgart all those years ago has since been successfully exported: occupational training programs based on the Bosch model have been implemented in more than 20 countries, and interest in such programs is on the rise. For instance, new training centers are currently being established in Vietnam and Thailand.

Mechatronics technicians in high demand
Bosch offers 30 occupational training programs in Germany alone. These include training for modern professions, among them computer specialists, microtechnologists, and organizational assistants. Mechatronics technicians are in especially high demand. This is because production increasingly calls for skills in both electronics and mechanics. At Bosch in Germany, the share of women per class currently stands at about 23 percent. Each year, the company receives more than 20,000 applications for its 1,500 training spots in Germany. Back in April 1913, company founder Robert Bosch kept just 40 apprentices busy in his apprentice workshop.

 “We regard it as part of our social responsibility to offer apprenticeships, thus enabling many young people to get a head start in their careers,” says Christoph Kьbel, member of the board of management and director of industrial relations at Robert Bosch GmbH. “Over the years, we have developed extensive expertise in the realm of occupational training. We now want to carry this expertise over into the training of specialists to our high standard of quality abroad.”

High interest in Bosch training programs in Asia
Dual occupational training, which sees apprentices alternating between phases in the classroom and at work, is in demand abroad as well. At present, Bosch locations in many countries, among them China, India, and Brazil, offer training programs based on this tried and tested concept from Germany. The need for qualified specialists is especially high in Asia. Bosch is currently setting up an occupational training center in Vietnam. The center will initially offer training to 30 apprentices when it opens in 2013. A cooperative venture for occupational training is also being initiated in Thailand, where Bosch is about to start training the first six young associates as mechatronics technicians. Until now, this system of dual occupational training was unknown in the country.

Apprentice exchange programs promote intercultural skills
Today’s apprentices develop problem-solving and social skills early on. The practical experience they acquire at Bosch from the very beginning helps them cultivate these skills, for instance when they build workpieces for production or engineering. Intercultural skills are another important aspect of the occupational training programs. For more than 50 years, Bosch has offered international exchange programs for apprentices. In each class, 20 percent of apprentices are offered opportunities to experience different cultures and approaches to work in other countries. The aim is to foster apprentices’ ability to act in an independent manner, take responsibility for their actions, and develop strong teamwork skills.

“It was an excellent chance to learn about how people live and work in another country,” says Eike Kennel from Homburg. In the second year of his training program, he worked at Bosch’s Beijing location for two months. “My language skills also improved in the few weeks I spent in China. I now find speaking English much easier.”