SEAT’s dual training recognised by Catalan government

SEAT and the Catalan (Generalitat) government’s Ministry of Education this morning signed an agreement to strengthen dual vocational training. The agreement provides for official academic recognition for the new vocational training provided by SEAT since the academic year 2012/2013, as well as for the non-regulated training of employees of the car manufacturer. 

Likewise, the agreement lays the foundation for joint development of the courses of studies of trades in the automotive sector, and includes the commitment made by SEAT to collaborate in the training of Generalitat instruction staff. Finally, agreement was also reached on the hand-over of brand vehicles by SEAT to the Ministry of Education as instructional material for use in public training centres.

The agreement was signed after the visit by the Catalan government’s Minister for Education Irene Rigau to SEAT’s Apprentices School. Minister Rigau was accompanied by Executive Vice-President for Human Resources Josef Schelchshorn, who showed the Minister the company facilities in its Barcelona Training Centre, as well as providing details of the dual vocational training provided by SEAT at the centre. Additionally, Minister Rigau got first-hand knowledge of the experience of some apprentices.

The Minister for Education declared that the agreement “signals the academic recognition of the skills learned by apprentices, and the competence of this school is helping to reach the full control and implementation of the dual vocational training system”. “2,000 students are registered for dual vocational training in Catalonia for the upcoming term. This is only the first step and we have a long road ahead of us, but we will take to the road with SEAT”, concluded Rigau.

After signing the agreement, SEAT President Jürgen Stackmann highlighted the fact that “top-quality vocational training is the key to increasing SEAT’s competitiveness”. In Stackmann’s words “SEAT’s Apprentices School has successfully adapted to developments in the industry and in technology. Our dual vocational training system is today a benchmark in Spain”.

For his part, Josef Schelchshorn, SEAT’s Vice-President for Human Resources, remarked that “Our aim has always been to provide good quality and a good level of training. With dual vocational training we have advanced one step further, and the signing of this agreement is a vote of confidence in the work that we have developed throughout the last academic year, enabling us to move forward”.

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SEAT’s dual vocational training scheme, based on German model

SEAT first implemented dual vocational training during the 2012-2013 academic year, making it a pioneering experience in Spain to further training as one of the strategic axes of the company. This novel system combines both theoretical and practical training at SEAT’s training centre with one of the company’s production plants. The curriculum offers a total number of 4,625 hours spread over three academic years, 57% more than the previous training system. Likewise, students sign a work contract for training and apprenticeship, whereby they receive a monthly remuneration according to the number hours of practical work carried out.

The Apprentices School, more than half a century of training
SEAT’s Apprentices School is a private training centre open to the public, with all teaching costs borne by the company. Since its creation in 1957, the School has gained a reputation for the excellent technical level of its trainers and facilities, which, together with practical training sessions, account for the success of the school over the past half-century. Since its creation, the centre has trained approximately 2,500 young apprentices. SEAT had 144 students for the academic year 2012-2013 in the three middle-grade cycles on offer – Machining, Electromechanical Maintenance of Installations and Vehicles Electromechanics, 34 of whom joined the company last June after successfully completing their three-year training course.