Ceremony including panel discussion and tour of the new premises.
Detmold, 25 April 2022. The Detmold-based family-owned business has been successfully providing training for more than 75 years. The Weidmüller Academy was launched 20 years ago. Since then, thousands of people have received training and further education at the company. Now another milestone has been added – the opening of the new 2000-square-metre Weidmüller Academy on Monday 25 April. The company will celebrate this together with guests from politics, business and society, including a tour of the new premises. Under the direction of company spokesperson Sybille Hilker and digital communications consultant Marc Landermann, the guests can also look forward to a top-class panel discussion on the topic of "Training and further education in the era of digitalisation and sustainability – what course must be set in order to remain a competitive site in Germany?" This fundamental question will be addressed by the panellists: Prof. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister for Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia; André Sombecki, CFO of the Weidmüller Group; Prof. Ulrike Weyland, educationalist specialising in vocational education at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster; and Stefan Wolf, Managing Director of the Peter Gläsel Stiftung.
The new academy as an important cornerstone of the company
"The new academy is an important cornerstone of Weidmüller's future. Training young people is not only our social responsibility, but also makes a decisive contribution towards securing our own skilled workforce", says CFO Sombecki. The aim is to take on all young people as permanent employees after their training, to provide them with further qualifications and for them to remain true to the company in the long term. In addition to training junior staff, the academy's main tasks include the continuous further qualification of employees, partners and customers as well as networking. This means building up knowledge within the company through qualified exchange with external institutions, universities and partners. In the 20 years of its existence, the Weidmüller Academy has received many awards and enjoys high national and international recognition.
“With its academy, Weidmüller sets standards and sets an important course"
Prof. Andreas Pinkwart: "Weidmüller is setting standards with its academy and setting an important course to offer bright minds a perspective in North Rhine-Westphalia." Securing skilled labour is a real competitive factor for the economy.
A holistic and digital approach to education and training therefore ensures the innovative capacity of companies in the future and is of particular importance for the site of North Rhine-Westphalia as a whole. The state government supports this central topic and is committed, for example, with the Digital Pact for Schools, the NRW Equipment Offensive and the promotion of Education Technologies", the minister added.
New building offers space for more than 120 apprentices and dual students
The new academy has been built in the immediate vicinity of Weidmüller's production facilities on Klingenbergstraße. The new building offers space for more than 120 trainees and dual students from the commercial and technical fields. Workshops, machinery, rooms for "new work", training and innovations form the core of the new building. In the future, 30 employees will be responsible for securing young talent, qualification, training and networking education, science and society.
"Academy as an important contribution towards securing our own skilled labour"
Prof. Ulrike Weyland, an educationalist specialising in vocational education at the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster, also praised the academy: "Weidmüller makes a decisive contribution towards securing its own skilled workforce through training, continuous further qualification, networking and knowledge expansion with external institutions and universities", says Prof. Ulrike Weyland. Weidmüller acts as a beacon for vocational training and continued education. "Education is the topic on everyone's lips and is fully embodied", says the university lecturer.
Stefan Wolf, Managing Director of the Peter Gläsel Stiftung, is also enthusiastic about the idea and implementation: "We are forming an educational village here with the nursery, the primary school and the academy, which is characterised by close links between education and the living world, in order to build knowledge and network education together. We are building the future here”.
