Focus on Qualification

Life is becoming ever more complex: Technology and society are developing at breakneck speed, globalization is continuing to grow, and competitive pressure on companies is increasing. For each and every individual, these challenges give rise to very special tasks – tasks that are also constantly changing. It is the responsibility of each individual to commit to continuous training and lifelong learning so as to keep pace with the daily requirement of ever shorter technology cycles and permanently accelerating innovation cycles. “Only in this way will we be able to survive in a world of globalized competition and, at the same time, be able to take an entirely sustainable approach and thereby successfully hand over both the company and the environment to the next generation in a healthy condition,” explains Dr. Eberhard Niggemann, Director of the Weidmüller Academy.

Institutionalized qualification

“Employees are what make the difference between a good company and a very good company,” affirms Dr. Niggemann. It was against precisely this backdrop that the Weidmüller Group founded the Weidmüller Academy back in 2003. It is in this institution that the electrical engineering specialist bundles all of its corporate qualification activities. “We never lose sight of the challenges of the future and the changes taking place in the global markets when working in the Academy,” continues Dr. Niggemann. “Our main areas of concern are lifelong training and continuous knowledge development.”

At the same time, the Academy’s activities also serve to ensure that the next generation of talented young people is qualified. Indeed, interesting projects for school pupils, attractive technical and commercial training opportunities, and close collaboration with education establishments guarantee the company’s development. In this regard, a current example that illustrates the need to adapt learning content is the on-trend topic of Industry 4.0. Automation technology, software, and IT communication form the basis of Industry 4.0. Following on from steam engines, assembly line production, and the launch of PLC controls to automate production, Industry 4.0 describes the next stage in industrial production, in which intelligent systems network with one another over the internet. At the end is the vision of the Smart Factory, which largely controls itself and thus allows for highly flexible and efficient production. “Against this backdrop, training and further training must be system-specific and focused on practical applications,” states Eberhard Niggemann.

During this process, the key focus is this interdisciplinary as well as systemand practice-oriented approach, which gives employees the necessary social and personal skills to meet the new specialist and work-related organizational requirements. Whereas previously the simple “terminal plus screwdriver equals connection” sequence was sufficient for the applications undertaken by Weidmüller customers, today the solution-finding approach is far more complex: “Hardware comprising several subsystems not only has to be combined with software, but it is also necessary to have a basic understanding as to how these two systems can solve problems when combined,” explains Dr. Niggemann. “Against this backdrop, we are currently turning product training sessions into system training sessions, for example.” But there is one topic that is not just applicable to advanced and further training or customer-training sessions. Even at the training stage, a great deal of importance is attached to closer cooperation between the trainees of various professions: “Even during the first year of learning, we bring mechatronics engineers and electronics engineers together with tool mechanics, surface coating technicians, and technical draughtspersons,” explains Dr. Niggemann. “By doing this, we are creating networks at an early stage, and every single person can contribute their own specialist expertise to problem-solving situations.”

Internationalized transfer of knowledge

Developing the company also involves treating customers and partners fairly. Another major sphere of activity for the Weidmüller Academy is holding sequential, specially developed training sessions on the latest technologies, our products, and their applications, as well as creating solutions and offering training in special applications for external partners. Institutionalized in the International Training Center (ITC), materials are purposefully prepared and taught on a global scale by Weidmüller employees from all over the world. In addition to fixed training events in Detmold or onsite sessions at partners’ and customers’ premises, content can also be conveyed in the ITC through webinars or web-based training sessions. Another Weidmüller Academy goal is knowledge transfer. “The Academy is a place of intelligent networking between companies, customers, partners, schools, further education establishments, research facilities, the region, and society,” clarifies the Director of the Academy, who therefore also sees the term “connection” beyond the horizon of Weidmüller’s product world. To maintain and build the company’s innovative capacity, an extensive network has been set up specifically for this purpose. “In addition to conveying knowledge and promoting young talent, having the company innovate and, not least, answering the pressing questions of our time, it is also about communicating social values.”

The Asian economic area is particularly significant for the sector in general and Weidmüller especially. This is why the Weidmüller Academy Asia was founded in 2011 – to build on the described expertise in China and the Asia-Pacific region, too. Both the concept and implementation process of the Weidmüller Academy Asia are closely based on the “parent facility” in Detmold: “In Shanghai, too, we are concentrating on internal and external knowledge transfer, networking with customers and partners, as well as providing training in social skills for younger colleagues in particular,” adds Dr. Niggemann.

Independent bodies have also confirmed that Weidmüller has successfully professionalized the topic of general, further, and advanced training by implementing the Academy concept. Indeed, over the last few years, Weidmüller has won several renowned prizes and awards, even being crowned an “Ort des Fortschritts” [Place of Progress] by the regional government in Germany. “But for us, there is something even more important than external recognition. We want to be recognized within the company and in our network,” Dr. Niggemann points out. “How do we know that we are being recognized? Well, due to the fact that our products and services are in even greater demand and also that 11 years have passed since the launch of the original Academy project; what we have now is an institution that enjoys an excellent reputation in the international arena.”