In the spring of 2019, the plan is to start with the initial cohort of around 100 participants and, following the training, the intention is to employ the graduates starting in 2021, explained Gunnar Kilian, a Member of the Board of Management at Volkswagen, in Wolfsburg.
Federal Minister of Labour Hubertus Heil (SPD), to whom Volkswagen had presented the programme, added: "The digital structural transformation will not leave us without work, but it will be different work."
Volkswagen is investing around 20 million euros in the first year of the two-year training programme referred to as "Faculty 73"; the application and selection phase commences in October.
Firm plans are in place for the training to run for at least three years. The program is targeted at employees who trained with Volkswagen with an affinity for IT as well as basic knowledge, but it is also targeted at higher education drop outs in science and mathematical subjects. A model is also conceivable in which "upcoming generations are trained over the long-term," explains Kilian.
The underlying reason for this is the massive transformation which the entire automotive sector is currently having to deal with. Networking and autonomous driving, but also electromobility are the mega themes occupying the sector. At the same time, however, new competition has emerged for the automotive manufacturers in the shape of tech-Giants such as Apple and Google. Then there's the much bemoaned lack of skilled workers.
Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess recently stated that the Americans were setting the pace when it came to autonomous driving. "In Europe, we currently have nothing to offer them in reply," he said. The Head of Works Council, Bernd OsterlohI, is also of the opinion that there has been a lack of software developers in the group “for some time".
In the future, Volkswagen is seeking to make money from the digitalization trend by investing billions in the networking of its cars. For this purpose, the plan is to supplement the core business with charging and billing services for e-cars, car sharing, and e-commerce offers. The plan is to inject 3.5 billion euros by 2025.
According to information supplied, "Faculty 73" was developed in collaboration with universities as well as private training providers. According to Killian, Volkswagen employs 2400 IT experts in Wolfsburg alone, with the global number being more than 11,000. Kilian said that Volkswagen specifically approached universities with the question of whether higher education drop outs might be interested in the training.
He added that since mid 2017, 130 software developers have been appointed and that over the coming years, around 400 positions will need to be filled. He explained that currently Volkswagen is able to cover its demand for experts with the job market.
The name of the programme "Faculty 73" comes from television, more specifically from the character of Sheldon Cooper in "The Big Bang Theory", the nerd from the cult series for whom 73 is the best number, the "Chuck Norris of numbers”"