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01. PMP - Educational Character-Building Workshop 2008
02. Girl's Day 2008 at MTU
03. Sophisticated Training Programs: MTU welcomes 102 new Trainees


01. PMP - Educational Character-Building Workshop 2008

As every year, MTU trainees and BA students attended the PMP week. Both first year trainees and BA students were divided up into three groups and set out for an exciting and interesting week.

The objective of this event was to develop and encourage so-called “Soft Skills“, such as teamwork capabilities, tolerance, how to appreciate others and what they do, helpfulness etc. Of course, the “fun factor” also figured, and the workshop was designed to get our trainees to get to know each other. Countless outdoor activities and other challenges to be met during this week helped contribute in getting our participants up to par.

The week started with the Social Project Day. Each of the three groups helped out in a variety of social institutions and gained both insight and perspective.

The rest of the week was spent in the Allgäu region. Each day, a variety of challenges was there to be tackled. One included constructing a number of cableways across a gorge in order to find more challenges on the other side. Less strenuous, yet asking more brain activity was the game “The Flying Carpet“. The challenge was: “Stand on this plastic sheet in a group of 15 and turn it over without any single one of you stepping off it“. All of this garnished with a round of detailed discussions about their experiences. Final highlight was the high wire park in Scheidegg. Each of the two groups had to spend half a day fighting their way through the maze of high wires - all of this at a dizzy height!

The challenges were aimed at each individual participant, since the tasks could only be tackled within a teamwork approach. Day-to-day routine chores such as doing the dishes or cooking breakfast were carried out by way of teamwork, too.

From my point of view, everything that happened during this week - ranging from the stay in the youth hostel to the trainers’ challenges - was very successful. So my praise goes to those who organized this event. Well done & Keep up the good work!



02. Girl's Day 2008 at MTU

Thursday, 24th April 2008, saw another edition of the traditional Girl’s Day at MTU Friedrichshafen. Around 70 young girls had come to spend a day at MTU and gain an insight into the technical professions on offer for training and the day-to-day business and routines of a large engineering company. Who knows, but for some of these girls, it may have been the stimulus to consider a training or university program in engineering following their school education. This is one of the reasons why MTU hosts the annual Girl’s Day event.

The girls were welcomed at the MTU Training Center by Ms Mathias and Ms Litz with presentations about MTU as a company as such, as well as women and their opportunities at MTU.

The Girl's Day schedule then saw the young girls being divided up into small groups to visit a variety of work stations, where the various on-the-job training programs and apprenticeships offered by MTU and the work stations as such were presented and explained by former MTU trainees.

While visiting the first 5 stations, the girls had the opportunity to watch a professional technical draftswoman work at her PC and then feel free to ask her any questions about her training and her work.

Another station was right in the middle of the training workshop for industrial mechanics presenting a small engine entirely built by trainees. There was also an opportunity to discuss work experiences with the technical draftsmen and -women in their first training year.

The girls were then overawed when they saw the really big MTU engines exhibited in the Training Center, which was the 3rd station, where Mr Bichelmaier gave a short presentation explaining the basics of MTU diesel engines to the young audience.

The young girls were then taken to station no. 4, a tour of the Electronics Center, where they gathered an insight into MTU’s Electronics production.

At the end of a comprehensive tour of the entire MTU site, the girls were invited on a virtual reality tour inside an engine. With the help of a computer-generated 3-D model, two beamers and 3-D glasses, the engine projected onto the screen appeared almost as realistic as its counterpart in "real" life. Luckily, the “real thing“ does not suffer any real damage when it is “virtually” taken apart and can be disassembled and reassembled within minutes, which offers a host of technical options and opportunities for engineers at MTU.

Before the Girl's Day drew to its close, the girls had light refreshments at the Training Center whilst receiving valuable advice and information when considering submitting an application for a training program. Finally, they had the opportunity for an exchange of information with a group of female trainees.



03. Sophisticated Training Programs: MTU welcomes 102 new Trainees

Dr. Volker Joos, Head of the Training Department at Tognum subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen welcomed the new trainees in the Karl-Maybach building in Plant 1: “Congratulations on securing a trainee placement in our company. I wish you all the best and lots of success for the future“. Out of a remarkable number of approximately 1,300 applicants, 102 young people had been selected to begin their training program with MTU. Our company offers excellent prospects for these newcomers. Traditionally, all graduates will be offered permanent employment with MTU, as long as performance and conduct are in line with our expectations.

Traditionally, MTU puts a premium on their training programs. “In order to ensure that we will be able to continue manufacturing competitive high-quality products in the future, we need highly qualified staff and experts“, Dr. Volker Joos pointed out. Against the backdrop of the current shortage in skilled personnel, MTU’s internal training programs are a particularly substantial contribution to our overall corporate success. Dr. Joos: “Skilled workers who know how to operate CNC-controlled machining centers are highly sought after.” Commercial and technical qualifications therefore offer excellent job prospects.

Traditionally, MTU offers in-house training for all key qualifications and professions and thereby qualifies its own unique staff of experts. This includes more than 10 metal engineering, electronics and commercial qualifications. This year, most trainees can be found amongst the industrial mechanics (50), followed by 8 electronics technicians and 8 mechatronics technicians, 2 model mechanics, 2 draftspeople, 4 commercial management assistants for office communications, 4 industrial business management assistants, 4 general mechanics, 4 engine mechanics, as well as 14 students from the College of Cooperative Education (Berufsakademie) with specialisms such as mechanical engineering and electronic engineering, industrial engineering, business administration and business data processing. A novelty this year: two machine and plant operators who are training on the job at the MTU Duisburg site, i.e. directly at their future place of employment. Within a cooperative training scheme, MTU also accommodates three additional draftspeople in their first training year from the other regional employers ZF, KTW and Linnig.

Heinz Brechtel, deputy head of MTU’s employees’ committee and Head of their Training Committee, welcomed the new trainees on behalf of the employee’s committee and the JAV (Association for Young Employees and Trainees). The JAV, consisting of 9 young trainees, provides support to all young people on all issues regarding their training programs. Heinz Brechtel wished them all a good start and success for their future.



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