The high expectations we have concerning the quality of our work are inextricably linked to the high value we place on education. We continue to train and equip our employees for the increasingly rapid technological developments in the sector – in production and administration as well as in the commercial and technical departments.

We cover most of our skilled labour needs through our own training courses. The high employment rate illustrates the fundamental importance of training across all four divisions of the company: of the 62 apprentices who graduated in 2018, we have taken on 50, which equates to more than 80 percent Most of the remaining twelve young apprenticeship graduates decided to go on to further studies and university.

In 2018, we had a total of 161 apprentices. Some 70 percent of them were following technical studies while around 15 percent were pursuing business qualifications and another 15 percent were on dual study courses. We are deeply aware that the time spent in education is a crucial part of life that has a permanent effect on every individual. Our training not only focuses on imparting technical knowledge, but is also concerned with the personality development of adolescents. Foresight is needed here – after all, many of those who come to Pöppelmann at a young age stay with us throughout their entire professional lives.

Part of our comprehensive educational concept includes inviting the parents of our new young employees to get to know our company when their apprenticeship begins. Our experience shows that this strengthens family support for the new tasks that these apprentices will face and intensifies the feeling of identification with Pöppelmann. We also show our appreciation of our young professionals by holding a graduation ceremony at the end of the apprenticeship.

During the introductory week at the beginning of August, apprentices get to know all three plants in Lohne as well as the four Pöppelmann divisions KAPSTO®, TEKU®, K-TECH® und FAMAC®. The diversity of Pöppelmann’s business fields also presents a significant advantage for apprentices later on: as a rule, they work in all four business divisions and therefore complete their apprenticeships with a wide range of experience gathered under different conditions in many different teams.

In addition, we offer young people the opportunity to actively shape their working environment within the company, for instance through our dedicated Youth and Apprentices Council (JAV) and projects like the “Plasticmobile” initiative. Our comprehensive package includes above-average remuneration, a digital assessment system, basic technical instruction in the training centre (teaching workshop) and accompanying lessons.

The Pöppelmann instructor team is constantly learning, too: in 2019, we launched the “Attitude to Education” workshop series to further qualify our 70-strong team of training instructors. This initiative involves collaboration with Kolping Academy and the Oldenburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Head of Commercial Training Yvonne Lamping and Head of Technical Training Reinhold Blömer are the assigned contact persons in the Human Resources Department for matters concerning our young apprentices.

We also offer graduates of technical or business studies or those with a comparable qualification the opportunity to embark upon a two-year trainee programme with various areas of specialisation as a further springboard to their career. Over the course of the two years, each trainee will work in different areas and is accompanied by a mentor. In addition to a development programme, comprehensive project work is also part of the trainee programme. The contact person for trainees is Katrin Husmann from the Human Resources department.

Regardless of education, we support the continuous development of our employees. We see this as a critical success factor to ensure our competitive ability in the future, too. To give an example, ever-advancing digitisation presents us with many challenges. What skills will our employees need in ten years? What role will machines and artificial intelligence (AI) play in everyday business? What prerequisites must we as a company create today in order to successfully master these tasks?

Development demands technical, methodological, social and personal skills. At the same time, it is important to us as a company that we use our employees in accordance with their strengths.

Since 2012, the Pöppelmann Academy has also offered provisions for internal personnel development. All of our measures focus on providing needs-based assistance while meeting our operational requirements. If necessary, they are supplemented by individual external provisions. In consultation with their manager, every Pöppelmann employee can sign up for courses to help them attain their development goals.

In addition, every staff member has the opportunity to continue their education alongside their job with the support of the company, for instance through specialist training in the technical field. Upon successful completion, Pöppelmann assumes 50% of the costs up to a maximum of 5,000 euros. Extra-occupational training gives employees the opportunity to apply internally for positions with more responsibility. This, too, is a sign that at Pöppelmann, we place great emphasis on personnel development and long-term employee retention.

In 2018, a total of 2,073 employees took advantage of 7,887 personnel development measures for further learning.