Training year kicks off at the Koehler Group

Print Solutions

Koehler Group has welcomed 36 young individuals at the beginning of the training year on September 1, as they embark on the start of their careers.

The family business’ mills in Oberkirch, Kehl, Weisenbach, and Greiz, as well as its site in Willstätt, will provide the newcomers with training for their apprenticeship or dual study programme in Germany and make them an integral part of the company’s activities from the very start.

Whether it is production, engineering, technology, IT, or administration, this new young talent will be getting started in a total of ten different apprenticeship and dual study programme specialisations that include paper technologist, electronics technician, industrial mechanic, mechatronics technician, systems integration specialist, and industrial administrator. These apprenticeship paths are rounded out by dual study programmes in business information systems and, for the first time ever, HR management. In addition, there is also a new vocational training option in the form of a warehouse logistics specialist apprenticeship.

The incoming young talent will be able to make use of learning and working facilities for their professional development. While training for general technical apprenticeships will be provided at the Koehler Group Tech Campus in Willstätt, prospective paper technologists will instead be attending the Koehler Group Paper Campus in Oberkirch. Both of these campuses combine realistic training with modern teaching approaches, providing an optimal basis for getting started with a successful career.

The group is also welcoming new apprentices outside of the Ortenau region, with four paper technologists starting their training at the Koehler Paper mill in Greiz. Moreover, two paper technologists and a mechatronics technician are starting their careers in the German municipality of Weisenbach at Katz, one of the company’s subsidiaries.

All these paths came together for an official kick off event in the form of an orientation week in Willstätt. There, all 36 newcomers got the opportunity to get a deeper initial look at what the company is like, get to know each other, and have a chat with management. They were given an official welcome by a number of people, including CEO Kai Furler, corporate director of HR and legal Elke Renz, and head of HR development and training Simone Wölfle.

The agenda was rounded out by various icebreakers and information options, guided tours of the facilities, and joint activities designed to make it easier for the young individuals to get started at the company.

‘The young people who are starting their training at Koehler today will be the ones shaping the work of the future. That is why we are deliberately investing in state of the art training centres, top grade vocational training, and close and personal coaching and mentoring. At the end of the day, our goal is not just to provide young talent with skills, but also to get them excited about their careers in the long term,’ explained Elke Renz.

The Koehler Group has been systematically investing in training its own skilled workforce for many years as part of a long term strategy. In fact, its current total of 116 apprentices and dualstudy programme students across all training years means that the company’s training rate is over 4%, surpassing the target that had originally been set for 2030. However, this is not an entirely unexpected outcome, as contributing to and supporting the development of young talent is an integral part of the company’s sustainability strategy.