On April 14th, 2011, around 90 girls from the 8th and 9th grade discovered how interesting and exciting technology can be during this year's "Girls' Day " at Brose's apprentice training centers in Coburg (35), Hallstadt (10), Würzburg (26), Wuppertal (7) and Berlin (9), learning about technical professions and the various career opportunities at home and abroad. The young women gained an insight into technical jobs, which girls seldom consider when choosing a career.
Guided and supervised by Brose's apprentices, they were able to test their technical skills, problem-solving ability and understanding of technical contexts. They found out about such professions as technical product designer, mechatronics technician, toolmaker, IT specialist and electronics technician for automation technology. In addition, trainers advised them regarding their career orientation and job applications.
This is the eighth time that the Brose Group has taken part in this nationwide project. "Young women with a good education have excellent career opportunities in technical professions. With projects like these, we hope to raise the girls' interest in attractive career opportunities in the field of technology and to further increase the number of female applicants," says the Brose's head of apprentice training, Michael Stammberger.
The proportion of women doing an apprenticeship at Brose is currently over 20 percent. Girls' Day has had a favorable influence on this development: over the past three years, six of the female school graduates could be recruited for Brose's dual training system as a result of their positive experience during Girls' Day. "Some of these girls originally wanted to do something completely different. They discovered their interest in technology as a result of this event," continues Stammberger.
Through Brose's participation in the "Girls for Technology Camp, its educational partnership with the Bamberg Maria Ward secondary school for girls, and various technical projects that Brose conducts at regional schools, the group makes young female talent aware of its technical training program and opportunities in technical professions.
Interested parties can now apply for the next training program, starting September or October 1, 2012.