You have to be young: Many doors are open to young people at the moment – in secondary schools and in companies anyway. Everyone is vying for the favor of the boys. One driver is the demographic development, the number of young people is falling. Searching for and finding good apprentices is now a mammoth task for companies. Necessity, however, is known to be the mother of invention, and so companies come up with something special: additional services and bonuses, motorcycles or, as is currently the case, FACC in Ried: the aerospace expert is offering tomorrow’s top executives two weeks of additional vacation. Need it “sweets”to lure apprentices? The OÖN have asked around and the answer is clearly yes. “goodies” are good, but inner (company) values also count.
The package that FACC has put together to inspire young, motivated people to pursue an apprenticeship is full of incentives: “Effective immediately, we are giving our apprentices two weeks of additional vacation time. On the one hand, this is an adjustment to the summer holidays, which the students also have. On the other hand, we would like to appreciate the high performance of our apprentices and give them more time for relaxation and time with friends”, says FACC boss Robert Machtlinger. Neukirchner entrepreneur Birgit Wurm can tell you a thing or two about the difficulty of finding qualified apprentices.
“Intense and sometimes wasted love’s effort”
The boss of the company “Wurm and Awender Kunststofftechnik” has ten employees and has not had any apprentices for several years. “Unfortunately not, no. We are a small company and, like everyone else, we have problems finding good apprentices. And we need good apprentices because we don’t have the potential to expend a tremendous amount of energy. Apprenticeships can be intense and sometimes a wasted effort”, says Worm. It’s no secret that some applicants lack basic skills. This is a problem, especially since the requirements have increased. The vocational training system has become more demanding, job descriptions and training have changed – and with them the apprentices.
“I have been an assessor for final apprenticeship exams for more than 20 years. The apprentices have gained many new skills, are more self-confident today, express themselves better, are becoming more involved in the company and that’s a good thing, because that’s exactly what we need”, says Wurm, who believes more in performance rewards and less in advance praise. In her opinion, training in a smaller company has advantages even without a temptation: the apprentice tends to grow more in a smaller company “brought on board”the work environment is more informal, the hierarchy is flatter.
Teaching needs higher priority
In order to strengthen teaching in the long term, its status must continue to be raised, both company bosses agree on this. “Our dual training system is a fine thing. In order to compete with higher schools, the quality of teaching must be raised”says Worm. “With the opportunity to do the Matura during the apprenticeship, the teaching profession is more than equal to attending a secondary school”says FACC apprentice trainer Helmut Winkler.
How will the pot find the right lid in the future? With or without a candy? “They are not absolutely necessary. Decisive and more important are work content, recognition, appreciation, responsibility, working atmosphere… The combination of everything makes for success in human resources”says Klaus Berer, Head of the Braunau Chamber of Commerce and adds: “It is also a fact that those who do not have any ‘goodies’ to offer should work out other advantages and make them known. And it’s better to start today than tomorrow!”
Who offers what?
which “goodies” do Innviertler companies offer prospective apprentices?
Fussl Modestraße, location: The fashion house Fussl focuses on performance: “Apprentices who complete all three years of their apprenticeship and the final apprenticeship examination with distinction receive an ‘apprentice thousand'”says Managing Director Karl Mayr.
KTM, Mattighofen: Apprentices who complete their final apprenticeship exam with good or excellent results when they first start are rewarded with their own KTM motorcycle. Already at the beginning of the apprenticeship there is a smartphone and a laptop.
Schwarzmuller, Freinberg: In addition to a modern training workshop and multifunctional rooms in the training center, Schwarzmüller also offers apprentices a mobility program that enables them to spend time abroad. From the third year of apprenticeship, young people can gain international experience and get to know other cultures.
Painter Reiter, Raab: “We see the apprenticeship with us not only as excellent technical training, but also as a character development that goes far beyond the technical apprenticeship. With us, everyone is encouraged individually”, says David Reiter, managing director of the Raab family business. special “sweets” for the junior staff there is also the opportunity to train with world and European champions in their field.
Fill GmbH, Gurten: Apprentices can use the same benefits at Fill as all other employees from the first day of work, such as: flexible working hours from the second month, free use of the fitness room, various event offers and an iPhone 12, which can also be used privately.
All professional doors are currently open to apprenticeship seekers
Many companies are desperately looking for employees. The agony of choice when it comes to apprenticeships is currently greater than it has been for a long time. “An unemployment rate of two and a half percent at the end of May means an all-time low in the Ried district”, says Rieds AMS district manager Klaus Jagereder. It is not surprising that for the 430 registered apprenticeship positions that are currently open, there are only around 105 registered apprenticeship seekers.
“Basically, it is sensational that all doors are really open to young people who want to do an apprenticeship. There really has never been anything like it. There is currently hardly any apprenticeship that we cannot offer,” says Jagereder. He senses a major rethink in many companies. “Companies do a lot to be able to retain young employees in the long term”says the Rieder AMS boss.
competition for apprentices
At the AMS Schärding, 259 open apprenticeships are currently registered and 89 apprenticeship seekers have been registered. Most apprentices are sought in the metal/electrical sector (79), followed by retail (48), office (35) and gastronomy (31). According to Schärding’s AMS manager, Harald Slaby, the competition for prospective apprentices will continue to increase in view of the demographic development.
It is often easier for companies of a certain size to offer the trainees opportunities for in-house development, good pay or special social benefits, and to address young professionals in particular. However, word of mouth should not be underestimated: so that smaller companies, which traditionally attach great importance to corporate culture, employee orientation and appreciation, can also make a very positive impression.
“Chances like never before”
“Apprenticeship seekers have better job opportunities than ever before”, says Slaby. The majority will probably even be able to choose between two or more companies. In some cases, however, personal and social deficits that stand in the way of joining the company also have to be eliminated, says Slaby. The AMS provides support in this regard. The apprenticeship is also becoming more popular, as reported by the WKO Braunau.
“At the end of April we had 414 apprentices in the first year of training in the district (i.e. beginning in summer 2021), which is 11.6 percent more than at the end of April last year. This means we have the third-highest increase of 18 Upper Austrian districts”, says WKO head Klaus Berer. Over all “new” No statement can yet be made about apprenticeship contracts because the school year is still running and the contracts are usually only being concluded.
asked
Motorbike, telephone, extra vacation: Would you like such “extras” influence your choice of apprenticeship? We asked the polytechnic schools in Braunau and Ried.
“I’m primarily interested in an interesting job in a good team, for me that would be my dream job. I’ve been looking for an apprenticeship for six months now.” – Fabian, from Dorf an der Pram, would like to become an IT technician
“The most important thing for me is that newcomers and young colleagues are well received in the company. The extras are nice, but not the first priority when choosing a career.” – Selina, from Mehrnbach, wants to become an office clerk
“No, actually I don’t think it’s that important and it wouldn’t attract me either. The working atmosphere there is much more important to me. How nice are my colleagues and bosses?” – Michael, from Burgkirchen, wants to become a mechatronics engineer
“I continue to go to school because first I want to be sure which apprenticeship I want to do. I’m not attracted by these extras, what counts more for me is the working atmosphere in the company.” – Sara, from Helpfau-Uttendorf, hasn’t decided yet
“Yes, I do think that such extras can make the apprenticeship and the company more attractive. I’m starting an apprenticeship at Amag, I like the company.” – Harman, from Mauerkirchen, wants to become a mechatronics engineer
Source: Nachrichten
