As part of the International Paper’s collaboration with the school Complex No. 2 in Kwidzyn, the program objective is to better prepare upper secondary school students to enter the labor market by showing young people the realities of the labor market and the challenges ahead.
Key stakeholders:
– School Complex No. 2 in Kwidzyn
– International Paper
Conditions for success:
Showing young people the realities of the labor market and the challenges ahead.
At WEPA Germany, one of the key aims is to train committed apprentices in presentation techniques so that they can present the company and what their apprenticeship is about at career information fairs, training fairs and in schools. Train apprenticeship envoys to work with them as a team at trade fairs, in schools and on apprenticeship days to increase the visibility of and the focus on the profession of a paper technologist.
Key stakeholders:
– Company
– Apprentices
Specific Benefits:
Address target groups directly and promote both, the internal commitment of apprentices and the external commitment of future apprentices.
Conditions for success:
– Finding the right applicants for the right apprenticeships
– Finding committed apprentices who are happy to spread the messagea and actively use training envoys in the company
WEPA Germany creates a diverse onboarding through, among other things, an open house and a detailed apprentice induction week at the start of the apprenticeship. This consists of bringing different apprentices together in a group, so they are getting to know each other and start creating a community; furthermore, the apprentices are accompanied throuhgout the entire training period, with the aim of offering them employment in the company and ensuring a good transition from the apprenticeship to the following job – in the third year of training, they are slowly taken on the shift distribution.
Key stakeholders:
Company
Specific Benefits:
– Good introduction to the world of work and thus encourage commitment
– Introduce individual topics to directly meet new people within the company and build a network
Conditions for success:
There needs to be a targeted onboarding of apprentices.
At WEPA Germany, the recruiting process of new apprentices consists of the followin steps:
– WEPA Germany uses employer branding to generate enthusiasm for the company;
– An initial online test in advance of the applicant days is set up to get a first impression of the applicants;
– Groups of applicants are brought to the company together during applicant days: the selection process is supported with the help of interaction in the group. Throughout the whole process, WEPA encourages engagement of potential apprentices and creates enthusiasm throughout the recruiting process.
Key stakeholders:
Company
Specific Benefits:
Establish a targeted recruiting process to specifically inspire and convince applicants of an apprenticeship in the paper industry, as well as attract young talents.
Conditions for success:
Create enthusiasm and show a common thread in the application process.
WEPA in Germany designs employer branding measures together with apprentices such as videos, advertisements, interviews, apprearance at trade fairs, content for the company website. The aim is to address the target group in a suitable and targeted manner via various media channels and to generate enthusiasm for the company.
Key stakeholders:
Company
Specific Benefits:
– Address the target group directly and inspire them to work for the company
– Draw attention to the company and thus generate a large number of good applications
Conditions for success:
Create targeted employer branding across different channels to generate high quality applications.
Essity Germany participates in virtual trade fairs to avoid losing contact with potential applicants.
Key stakeholders:
– Company
– Pupils and parents
– Teachers
Specific Benefits:
Approaching applicants in direct/ indirect way and have short introductory talks and appointments consulting.
Conditions for success:
Make sure to have an attractive stand and give aways, as well as having the apprentice to get in touch with visitors.
Essity Germany develops a new marketing strategy to reach potential applicants through the right channels, which includes suitable descriptions of the training content and benefits at a glance.
Key stakeholders:
Company
Specific Benefits:
Approaching applicants in their popular channels.
Conditions for success:
Input on descriptions of the training content need to be developed.
Essity Germany offers internships for students to get to know the paper professions at first hand. Essity also participates in project weeks with local associations.
Key stakeholders:
– Company
– Pupils in school/participants of special programs
Specific Benefits:
Interships offer the possibility to get personal contact to pupils, and allowing company and pupils get to know each other better.
Conditions for success:
There is the need to have on-site support.
As part of several cooperations between local schools and Essity Germany, company presentations are shown regularly to students, in which the differnt job positions are also presented. It is particularly helpful here to involve current apprentices, who report on their day-to-day work life.
Key stakeholders:
– Company
– Apprentices/pupils in school
Specific Benefits:
Through this cooperation, there is the possibility to have personal contact to pupils. Also, company presentations can be run digitally.
Conditions for success:
It is necessary to be regularly prepared with information about company and apprenticeship, as well as schedule enough time to go into exchange.
Lucca paper district plays a strategic role in the Italian national industry, with more than 100 companies and a strong connection with the territory, and with a strong commitment to the educational world.
During the last decades, thanks to the dedication, engagement and cooperation between the industrial sector, university, high technical institutes and Confindustria Toscana Nord – the local branch of the National Industry Association – they have been able to build an extraordinary technical education system. The general purpose is to train young people transmitting them technical knowledge and to attract and retain skilled young workers in the pulp and paper industry.
By building a structed educational system, that is organized through different levels, they work with the aim of transferring and increasing the professional skills and expertise of the young people, in order to help them obtaining high level competences that are valuable for the paper industry. These educational initiatives are part of a complex system, starting from the guidance seminars organized in the middle school, to technical high school courses specifically designed on pulp and paper industry needs, to the higher level of university education.
Brief description of the best practice:
A Paper Technology Working Group project has the goal to create/reinforce the link between education and industry, making both sides aware of the respective needs. The aim of the project is to promote the awareness of the skills required by young people in the professional world and to connect students, teachers, families and companies in order to facilitate young peoples’ choice in terms of training and work paths. The challenge concerns both schools and companies.
The former working on the skills that are functional to the professional world and acting to renew the methodological approach favouring interdisciplinarity, laboratory teaching, problem solving, project work and self-entrepreneurship. The latter becoming more focused on the educational aspect, transmitting to the young people skills and tasks required in the daily job.
The meetings are also focused on adapting the school programmes to the industry needs in order to make the training plan much more suitable to the knowledge and skills required in the workplace.
Another activity of the project consists in career counselling events planned during the year for the middle school and high school students.
The working group organises also the convention “Carta Bianca al tuo Futuro” (Carte blanche to your Future), a conference open to the students, their families, stakeholders and dedicated to promotet the leading role of the paper sector in the local territory also in terms of job opportunities.
Key stakeholders:
– Teachers
– Pulp and paper companies
– Students
Specific Benefits:
– For teachers: to encourage students when choosing their school and training path, to have a better knowledge of the different job roles and of the training needed to be able to access them and, more generally, to support more conscious life choices with respect to their aspirations and vocations and to the real opportunities and demands coming from the business world
– For companies: The initiative allows the enterprise to be more recognisable within the territory, promoting its social role and its training function. Opening its doors to the school means making itself known to students, their teachers and their families, and to be an active player in defining what is actually taught to the next generation. A stronger relationship is thus created between the company and the local area in which it operates
– For students: the activity aims to encourage young people to choose their training and work paths with awareness and competence
Conditions for success:
– Companies involvement in terms of technical human resources
– Strong relationship between teachers and companies
– Strong local promotional activities to sponsor the initiatives