China’s Minister of Education, Prof. Guiren Yuan, finds out more about dual vocational training at Volkswagen

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• Board Member for Human Resources, Dr. Neumann: “Specialist knowledge and
  skills are basic prerequisites for economic success”
• Talks on cooperation in vocational training

Dr. Horst Neumann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft responsible for Human Resources (3rd left), introducing the Chinese Minister of Education, Prof. Guiren Yuan (5th left), to the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition. Other participants during the discussion held in a vocational training center at the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg were Works Council member Gerardo Scarpino (4th left), Chairman of the Works Council Committee on Education, Ralph Linde (2nd right), Head of the Volkswagen Group Academy, instructor Holger Schülke (right) and Andre Meier (left), trainee process technician specializing in plastics and rubber engineering. Volkswagen vocational trainees from four professions designed and built the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition themselves as part of their vocational training, and presented the car at the prestigious Wörthersee GTI Meeting in May.The Chinese Minister of Education, Prof. Guiren Yuan, visited the Volkswagen plant in Wolfsburg on Thursday to find out more about dual vocational training at the company. The Minister was welcomed by Dr. Horst Neumann, the Board Member for Human Resources at Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. Neumann discussed cooperation in the field of vocational training with the Minister and accompanied him on a tour of the plant. The Board Member for Human Resources explained the principle behind dual vocational training as well as qualification and knowledge transfer in the Volkswagen ‘Berufsfamilien’ (vocational groups). The program also included a chat with vocational trainees.

Dr. Neumann presented the vocational training system at Volkswagen to the Chinese Minister of Education and said: “Specialist knowledge and skills are a basic prerequisite for a strong and efficient team, for outstanding quality, for top products and for our economic success. That is why Volkswagen attaches the greatest importance to first-class dual vocational training which closely links theory and practice. We also apply this principle to in-service qualification measures in our Berufsfamilien.”

Most of Volkswagen’s approximately 20,000 vocational trainees worldwide are already learning their professions on the basis of the dual vocational training principle. Given the international differences in school systems, Volkswagen cooperates with governments and educational institutions in the regions where plants are located in order to implement the dual principle. In China, Shanghai Volkswagen applies this principle to train mechatronics technicians and automotive mechatronics technicians, while FAW-Volkswagen trains production mechanics, motor vehicle body and vehicle construction mechanics, automotive mechatronics technicians, mechatronics technicians and tools mechanics under the dual vocational training system.

During the visit, Volkswagen vocational trainees talked to the Minister about their training. They presented the Golf GTI Wolfsburg Edition to demonstrate their skills to their guest in a practical context. Twelve vocational trainees from four trades created this unique model in line with their own ideas, showcasing it at the Wörthersee GTI Meeting in May 2014.