The new training year at Heidelberg began on September 1, 2022. Once again this year, 128 young women and men started their training or dual study program at one of the company’s four sites – in Wiesloch-Walldorf, Brandenburg, Amstetten, and Ludwigsburg.

At the Wiesloch-Walldorf site alone, some 100 young people began looking forward with great anticipation to what lies ahead. There are currently 12 professions on offer, together with a whole host of technical, business and interdisciplinary courses. With its high apprenticeship training rate, the company is trying to prevent a shortage of skilled workers while also helping to lessen the challenges associated with demographic change.

Production-related specializations, such as mechatronics engineer, industrial engineer, and electronics engineer, account for the majority of training professions, and these trainees are primarily deployed in the company’s core business. Heidelberg is underscoring the continuing importance of this business for its future. The IT specialist traineeship is also gaining ever greater weight. Besides the long-established “Application development” specialization, a “Data and process analysis” option is now also being offered.

Moreover, the number of IT specialist training places is increasing from five to at least six. This indicates the growing importance of IT-related professions and courses resulting from the company’s digital transformation. Besides a junior high school leaving certificate with good grades, the main prerequisites for this profession are a good affinity for IT, curiosity, a sense of personal responsibility, and the willingness to learn independently.

Another career option with excellent prospects for the future is the mechatronics service engineer traineeship. This is a good fit for young people with a certain level of mobility who are happy to travel and have both a friendly demeanor and a well-developed sense of responsibility. Anyone considering this occupation will need good grades for their junior high school leaving certificate, together with a firm grasp of, and an interest in, technology. Covering all the content required by the relevant German occupational regulation, this traineeship is offered both at Heidelberg headquarters in Wiesloch-Walldorf and at the Brandenburg site.

The trainees also complete additional modules, during which they are prepared for call-outs to customers in Germany and around the world from the very beginning. As early as their third year of training, they accompany experienced service engineers to print shops.

“With our exceptional training, which has won numerous awards from external institutes, we are looking to overcome the future challenges associated with digital transformation and demographic change while also preventing a shortage of skilled workers,” explains Marcus Wassenberg, CFO and chief human resources officer at Heidelberg. “Our junior staff can expect interesting tasks, responsibility and motivated teams from the very start. They will be able to apply and develop their skills both in our core business and also in new areas of business such as electromobility. What’s more, the chances of a permanent position with the company are excellent.”

Across the company’s four sites in Germany, Heidelberg has around 350 trainees and dual-program students, some 75% of these at its largest site in Wiesloch-Walldorf.