Article: New apprentice project: On the way to a pride moment
When workplaces at DB Fahrzeuginstandhaltung's Bremen maintenance depot need to be improved, it is the apprentices who take on the task from now on – in the "apprentice project". "The apprentice project gives us the chance to put into practice what we have learned in theory," explains apprentice Hasan Demir. Since the beginning of March, prospective industrial mechanics have had the opportunity to put what they have learned in theory into practice and acquire important operational skills in the process. In this way, the apprentices are better integrated into work processes and networked within the company.
From apprentice to project manager
"Above all, we want to bind the apprentices more to the employees," says Sebastian Herzog, the deputy head of the maintenance depot. From now on, when workplaces are improved in the maintenance depot, the employees contact the training coordinator with their suggestions. The apprentices also have the opportunity to submit ideas. They decide for themselves which of these projects they would like to implement.
The goal is the so-called "pride moment", says Herzog. The apprentices not only get to know individual work steps, processes and departments better, but also apply what they have learned in a real project. The responsibility, the work and the finished result create just that – the "pride moment".
From theory to practice – this is how factory lessons work
In addition to the apprentice project, the factory introduces the "factory lessons" that take place every fortnight. Here, comprehension problems from vocational school are worked through and topics that prepare for exams are dealt with.
The aim is to put theory into practice. The apprentices can apply what they have learned in the factory and work on their projects. The factory lessons, the apprentice project as well as the lean training, which is also organised by the Bremen maintenance depot to teach higher-level technical skills, are intended to optimally prepare the apprentices for the so-called final examination Part 2 "Operational assignment".
After successfully passing the exam, tomorrow's associates will help shape the future culture of the maintenance depot. The pride moment they have achieved supports the apprentices in further developing our values such as passion and a sense of responsibility, through which they can live out their attitude to a "we" culture in their everyday working lives," says Herzog.
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