BERNDORF (2 February 2021) – Apprenticeship training at Berndorf AG is successfully bucking the wider industry trend. While the number of young people in apprenticeship schemes in Austria declined by around 12.5% in 2020 and youth unemployment reached 26.5% nationwide, the number of trainees taking up new apprenticeships at Berndorf rose sharply. 2021 will see seven young men and women embark on the first year of their new traineeships at Berndorf, as BSG Apprenticeship Workshops Director Dieter Peley confirmed: “This represents a 40% increase compared with the long-term average!”
Trainee sponsorship fuelling demand
Peley attributes this surge in interest to a combination of rising demand for specialists in electrical and machine engineering careers and increasing prioritisation of training schemes by the companies behind the Berndorf AG Apprentice Workshops: “We are currently training apprentices at our Triestingtal site on behalf of four different Group companies – Berndorf Bäderbau, Berndorf Band, Berndorf Band Engineering and Schukra!”
For almost two decades, Dieter Peley has been dedicated to bringing about an increase in the quality – and quantity – of next-generation specialists, both male and female. During this time, he has shown an unwavering commitment to helping young women who are looking to embark upon technical careers to realise their full potential. These efforts have been recognised in the form of multiple awards for the apprenticeship schemes – such as the Amazone Award – as well as outstanding achievements by female apprentices in exams and competitions.
Berndorf continues to expand its apprenticeship programme
It is good to see that persistence and dedication pay dividends when it comes to training young people, Dieter Peley noted. The belief that traineeships have a bright future – despite all the upheaval and difficulties shaping the current economic climate – is firmly enshrined at Berndorf. “There is a clear commitment from the Berndorf AG Management Board to ensuring that specialist workers are trained in house. After all, Berndorf will be able to retain its competitive edge on the international stage if it has employees with top qualifications. Definite plans are already in place to expand the Apprentice Workshops and invest in new equipment and machinery.
To this day, graduates of the Group traineeship programme go on to take up management positions at Berndorf as specialists, master tradespeople and engineers. Success stories like this represent a major advantage for Berndorf in the competition to attract the best trainees, which is still fierce in spite of the coronavirus pandemic, as Peley pointed out. “Our sponsorship model for apprentices means that we can integrate the young men and women into their future employers’ work processes at an early stage. Another bonus is that they already feel at home at the company after completing their training and can't wait to start working there.”
Apprenticeships at Berndorf – career paths
The Berndorf Apprentice Workshops are situated on the Berndorf Sondermaschinenbau GmbH (BSG) site (https://berndorf-bsg.at) . The company is certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 Current apprenticeships include metalworking (with machine engineering, plant engineering and welding engineering as the core module), mechatronics, materials engineering, process engineering, machining, mechanical engineering design, electrical engineering (with plant engineering or technical services as the core module) and industrial management. Applications are always welcome!