Conti scheme transitions employees to higher skilled roles

Hamburg, Germany –  Continental AG has launched a ‘professional development’ initiative, designed to train unskilled and semi-skilled employees for transition to Industry 4.0.

As part of the programme, Continental’s Institute of Technology and Transformation (CITT) will offer employees training in plastics and rubber technology, the German group announced 29 Sept.

Courses, said Conti, will be run in stages and could eventually lead to a nationally recognised vocational qualification of process technician for plastics and rubber technology. 

To deliver this training, CITT as Continental’s in-house training body has established a number of hubs across Germany, the first of which is to become operational at the company’s site in Hamburg-Harburg.

The initiative supplements measures for integrating long-term unemployed people and providing a foundation vocational placement for young people, Conti further stated. 

“Continental’s Hamburg site is making a targeted contribution toward addressing the structural change in the industry, supporting its employees in mastering digitalisation and helping provide tomorrow’s skilled employees,” the group said.

The overall goal is to help employees develop skills and know-how to carry out complex activities, gradually replacing unskilled or physically demanding activities as digitalisation and automation increase. 

“Colleagues will also extend the range of operations they can perform at the site and improve their prospects in the labour market,” said Tobias Heilmann, who heads up HR at the Hamburg site. 
 
Divided into a number of modules, each lasting four to six months, the programme makes it possible to gain the vocational qualification as a process technician in 24 months – as opposed to the traditional three-year apprenticeship. 

The training takes place during working hours at the full basic salary and is supported by the federal employment agency under Germany’s skills development opportunities act. 

According to Conti, the first 17 employees have already completed the foundation module in Hamburg with good to very good results, and the group moved on to the second module in August.