Official Opening of New Training Workshop at the Leipzig Porsche Plant1.7 Million Euro Invested – 47 Young People Currently in Training
Leipzig. As a part of the plant expansion of Porsche Leipzig GmbH, a new training workshop has also been created over the last two years, situated right in the middle of the assembly hall for the new Panamera. Today the official opening ceremony took place: in the presence of Professor Thomas Fabian, Deputy Mayor for Youth, Social Affairs, Health and School of the city of Leipzig, and guests from associations, regional education institutions and other enterprises, the new premises were dedicated by Thomas Edig, Executive Vice President Human Resources and Personnel of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart.
In his address, Edig stressed the importance of professional training for the sports car manufacturer: "The training given by Porsche ensures that the people working in our production halls assemble our premium products in accordance with our high quality specifications - both in Zuffenhausen and in Leipzig." Thus he regards the investment of 1.7 million Euro as money well spent for the future, which will benefit in equal measure the young people who will be training here, and the enterprise itself.
The Porsche HR head emphasized that the training workshop's central site in the middle of the new production hall for the four-door Gran Turismo Panamera had been deliberately chosen: "This makes sure the training is integrated into normal operation. Right from day one, trainees can experience what is happening on the shop floor and can actually see the jobs they are being trained for."
The new training premises include the 600 square meter training workshop itself, a training classroom with state-of-the-art equipment, and a service area. At present 47 young people are being trained as automotive mechatronics technicians at the Leipzig Porsche plant. Once they have successfully completed their apprenticeship, they will all be employed on a permanent basis. This puts the trainee rate of the Leipzig works way above average for the German automotive industry. Just now the Porsche subsidiary is looking for ten young people to begin their training in September 2009.
Siegfried Bülow, Chief Executive of Porsche Leipzig, emphasized that when selecting trainees, Porsche does not just look at the applicants' good marks, but also seeks qualities such as keen interest, teamwork potential and enthusiasm for the product and the enterprise. In this connection he referred to the Porsche training scheme's most recent successes: one of the factory's trainees received the accolade of "Best Younger Generation Skilled Worker of Leipzig" from the Leipzig Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). In addition, the IHK awarded Porsche Leipzig GmbH a certificate as "Outstanding Apprenticing Company 2008". "With the new training workshop, we now have the ideal conditions to continue providing training of the highest quality", said the manager of the Leipzig plant.
GO
27.10.2008