Two months ago, Audi announced that it was looking to expand their workforce and increase the use of vocational training throughout their company and their factories. Vocational training is a very important part of one’s career in the automotive field, especially when it comes to the manufacturing half of the operation. In Europe, vocational training is taken exceptionally seriously, with extra emphasis being put on on-the-job experience- after all, a master’s degree in engineering won’t teach you the intricacies of the assembly line.
The commitment to vocational training does not just come in the form of additional positions. Audi is introducing what they dub as “Vocational Training 2.0”- it makes good use of technology to accelerate teaching and understanding, in a manner that appeals best to Gen Z students. Audi is the first manufacturer to make use of tablets on the assembly line as well, in order to better teach apprentices the ins and outs of the manufacturing process.
This improvement in the program will see 752 new apprentices beginning their work this friday, along with 39 extra dual-study students who will be working at Audi in tandem with their university programs. 504 of those students will be working straight on the assembly line, while 248 of them will be beginning their careers at Ingolstadt itself. On the whole, 30% of new employees are female- which is part of sustained growth in gender equality within the field.
While this may seem like a whole lot of new workers, Audi received applications from roughly 10,000 students for their apprenticeship program. The fact that less than 10% of applicants were accepted shows that Audi is still committed to maintaining their high standards when it comes to employees. In 2016, there will be an increase of 10.5% in positions at Audi’s manufacturing centres, allowing more apprentices to apply.
