In its concept for the training of apprentices, voestalpine is pursuing a Group-wide strategy; currently, 36.3% of the apprentices are being trained at sites outside of Austria. Another important aspect is the promotion of internationality by way of an informal Group exchange program.
In the fall of 2012, a website was created for apprentices; information about all of the offered apprenticeship occupations and all of the locations in Austria and Germany that provide apprenticeship training can be downloaded from this site (www.voestalpine.com/lehre). Additionally, the HR online presence was again expanded with a greater emphasis on social media like Facebook, where voestalpine has a career page.
Post-apprenticeship employment
At voestalpine, 100% of all apprentices who complete their training are given employment contracts. This proves how efficiently the training is geared to company-internal requirements and illustrates what an attractive employer voestalpine is among entry-level employees.
Steel sounds
The locations in Austria and Germany that train apprentices implemented the “Steel Sounds” campaign aimed at apprentices. In this creative competition, the young people were able to explore the world of steel and submit videos, in which they created sounds using everyday steel products.
The best sounds were selected online and integrated into a song that had been composed for voestalpine. Due to the target group, the campaign was conducted on the Internet. “Steel Sounds” was chosen from among 500 submissions for the German Award for Online Communication in the “Recruiting Campaign” category.
Objective
An important objective for voestalpine is the advancement of women in the apprenticeship occupations as well, particularly in the technical skilled trades. One of the measures being undertaken in this regard is voestalpine’s regular participation in Girls’ Day, a project that introduces young women to various professions. As of the reporting date of March 31, 2013, 210 voestalpine apprentices were female; half of them were being trained in the technical skilled trades.