As of the annual reporting date (March 31, 2024), the voestalpine Group was training 1,513 apprentices in about 50 skilled trades, the majority thereof (68.9%) at locations in Austria. A total of 15.0% of apprentices were being trained in Germany under the dual system applicable in that country. Because this training is based on defined needs, almost all of the apprentices who successfully complete their training are offered an employment contract. voestalpine clearly believes that it has the duty to invest in the training of young, skilled workers. In addition to excellent professional training, the focus also is on developing personal and social skills. On average, the Group invests more than EUR 90,000 in training each apprentice.
Numerous successes by voestalpine apprentices confirm the quality of their training, such as the European vice-champion title in the vocational category of plant electrical engineering at the EuroSkills vocational championships in Gdansk. voestalpine was also successful at the AustrianSkills2023 vocational championships: national champion and 1st to 3rd places in the plant and operating equipment category.
This means that voestalpine will once again be represented at WorldSkills2024 in France and at EuroSkills2025 in Denmark. This shows yet again that voestalpine is the industry’s showcase for successful skilled worker training. The company will offer some 500 trainee slots in the next training year (starting in September 2024) in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. One particular aim is to get girls interested in technical professions. The proportion of women in technical apprenticeships has doubled in the last ten years and currently stands at 22%. Measures such as participation in careers fairs and visits to schools as well as Girls’ Day are intended to further increase the proportion of women, particularly in technical apprenticeships.
“I CHOOSE voestalpine” APPRENTICE CAMPAIGN
Under the motto “I choose,” in 2022 voestalpine launched a completely new apprenticeship campaign that specifically addresses the needs of young people. The aim of the cross-media campaign is to highlight the future prospects of an apprenticeship and to make voestalpine tangible as an employer. voestalpine apprentices are the ambassadors and were involved in the development of the campaign. With the new video series “Des hot Sinn,” we are continuing the success of the campaign across ten communication channels, including our own landing page (https://ichoose.voestalpine.com), social media, print media, and internal channels. TikTok and Snapchat are increasingly being used to address the very young target group, including our very own Snapchat filter.
GROUP APPRENTICE DAY
The Group Apprentice Day is a special event in an apprenticeship. In the program’s final year, all trainees and apprentices are invited to the Group’s headquarters in Linz to spend an eventful day that includes a talk with Management Board members, a tour of the plant, team challenges, along with a lot of other fun and action. Around 400 apprentices in their final year of training and their trainers from 40 sites in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland took the opportunity to meet in person and get to know the Group headquarters in Linz at the voestalpine Group Apprentice Day on October 10, 2023. After three years of being held virtually, the event took place for the first time as a live event at voestalpine Stahlwelt in Linz.
As a highlight, the entire voestalpine Management Board answered the apprentices’ questions in a discussion round. Current topics such as the phased plan for greentec steel and the new special steel plant at the Kapfenberg site met with particularly great interest among the young people. With his keynote speech, EU Youth Ambassador and whatchado founder Ali Mahlodji motivated the young professionals to take their future into their own hands. Between the program items, there was also an opportunity for close exchanges with colleagues from other locations. It was a festival of appreciation and a powerful demonstration of the importance of apprenticeships! In recent years, around 4,800 apprentices have taken part in the eleven Apprentice Days and experienced this unique spirit.