Exciting prospects for the future: Dillinger and Saarstahl welcome 130 young recruits

"SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar with the companies Dillinger and Saarstahl is the third largest steel producer in Germany," said Joerg Disteldorf, Managing Director of SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar (SHS) and Chief Human Resources Officer for Saarstahl and Dillinger. "Important tasks await these young people – especially those created by the new technical challenges of transformation. They will get the opportunity to collaborate on this century’s central challenge and to produce the steels needed for the energy and mobility transformation."

Dillinger and Saarstahl have been committed to developing their own young skilled workers for years. With around 500 trainees, they are the largest training company in the region and have been training young recruits at a consistently high level for many years. "We are very pleased we were able to inspire so many pupils to take up an apprenticeship in the Saarland steel industry again this year and to fill our apprenticeship places," said Cornelis Wendler, Head of Education and Human Resources Development at SHS. "We offer young people a modern and forward-looking workplace that matches their talents and interests."

The young recruits were greeted on their first day of work to the Hermann Neuberger Hall in Völklingen by the Chief Human Resources Officer, the training team, the Works Council and youth representatives, and were welcomed into the steelmaking family. Because Dillinger and Saarstahl place a high priority on soft skills like teamwork and collegiality, following the reception the young recruits immediately started their "onboarding days". The focus here is on team building. Cohesion is fostered from the very beginning through a variety of activities and workshops and the trainees learn that they can rely on each other. This is important, because the transformation can only be managed by working together. In addition, the new recruits get to know the training team and thus gain their first insight into what may be the most important stage of their professional career: their training period.

This year, Saarstahl is enabling 68 young people to start their careers: of these, 60 apprentices chose the technical and trade area and 8 chose the commercial area. 62 apprentices are starting their professional futures at Dillinger: 58 in the technical and trade area and 4 in the commercial area. An additional 28 trainees from other companies are completing training at Saarstahl and Dillinger as part of the training partnership program. The companies together are offering 14 new interns from technical secondary schools their first experience of working life as part of the one-year basic vocational training program.

About our training: Into a green future with Saarstahl and Dillinger

Saarstahl and Dillinger provide needs-based training and generally hire their own trainees after they have successfully completed their training. Pupils can choose between around 18 technical and trade or commercial professions.

The trainees also have the opportunity to enhance their job skills with additional qualifications in the area of Industry 4.0, including programming, IT security or additive manufacturing. The tools for a successful professional career also include soft skills like the ability to work in a team and collaborative spirit. The focus of the training offered at Dillinger and Saarstahl is on promoting the individual talents of young people.

You can find more information about training opportunities at Dillinger and Saarstahl at www.stahlbunt-fuers-leben.de and on the Stahlbunt (@StahlbuntAzubis) Facebook page.