Help getting started in the world of work
Sometimes it’s just an inability to see that limits a student’s learning: during a concentration training session as part of BPW’s ‘Start’ programme, it became apparent that a 19-year-old taking part couldn’t see properly. Wearing her first pair of glasses ever, she dramatically improved her academic performance. In partnership with the Bielstein secondary school, the ‘Start’ programme helps young people who have almost no chance on the regular job market due to their poor grades begin a career. In a ten-month intensive course, they are given an all-round education in the company: with maths lessons, social skills training and sports. They go through the different BPW departments on a four-week rotation and attend vocational school alongside trainees. Of the 28 people who have taken part in six years, 23 have joined BPW as trainees. A new round began in August 2018. The programme doesn’t just impart knowledge to the youngsters. They also develop a better understanding of their personal strengths and weaknesses and grow as people – which helps them make a positive start to their future career.
In my traineeship at BPW, I’m learning much more than what I need to know for my chosen career. During an internship abroad in Italy, I also gained a great deal personally. We get great opportunities, do things like etiquette courses, and learn about politics. At the Christmas market organised by the trainees, we are allowed to decide which institutions we’ll donate the proceeds to – BPW gives us a lot of responsibility, and that makes us strong!
Celine Gipperich, 3rd year trainee
Political education
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‘Is Germany’s dual education system a poster child or a thing of the past?’ Experts in education and the economy discussed this question in front of around 100 guests at the hammer mill in Engelskirchen in late 2017. They were invited by BPW’s 3rd year trainees. The event marked the end of a political education series that began in 2016. This series of events was intended to create awareness of political impact, bring political structures to life and help form opinions. The trainees prepared the evening’s theme and filmed short video clips with critical statements as a basis for discussion. The series on political education will be continued – the trainees in the different cohorts are completing additional modules.
Supporting talent
In BPW’s talent programme, employees who have proven themselves at an assessment centre are given the chance to obtain new knowledge, demonstrate their skills, network and develop personally. The first of the talented employees started three years ago. Over two years, they were intensively supported and challenged – through workshops, coaching, visits to subsidiaries and managing a strategic project. Everyone was delighted by the team spirit, the professional and above all personal development opportunities and the constructive exchange with the management. In the spring of 2018, BPW called for applications for the second round, for which 14 talented employees from various departments and subsidiaries qualified. Graduates of the first cohort are supporting new participants as mentors.
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Long Night of Industry
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When the Cologne Chamber of Industry and Commerce invites people to take part in the ‘Long Night of Industry’, BPW opens its doors late into the night, too. In June 2018, the company management personally welcomed around 100 guests, who gained fascinating insights from the showroom, wheel-end assembly and the e-mobility division. BPW uses the event format to create a dialogue with nearby stakeholders: it is aimed at inspiring their interest in local industry and promoting greater understanding. On that particular evening, young people interested in a traineeship at BPW also took the opportunity to get to know the company better.