Top quality training
“No acute shortage of skills at microtechnology companies”. This conclusion was published by IVAM, the professional association for microsystems, in early 2011 following a survey of its member companies. At the same time, however, nearly two thirds of those questioned expected to be faced with this very shortage in the near future. This view is also shared in the science location Adlershof – and measures are being taken against it.
Hamm Lippstadt University Professor Uwe Kleinkes, a specialist in technology marketing and microsystem technology as well as a former managing director of IVAM has observed that often only very small in size, with about 40 % employing ten or fewer, these companies would be unaware of an urgent call for personnel – until they started to experience strong growth. Doreen Friedrich, Administrative Office Head at the ZEMI microsystem technology centre, explained that the Berlin-Adlershof Technology Park had already recognised and has now taken up this challenge. Set up in 2001, ZEMI operates as a combine of Berlin research institutes serving as a network for the regional research and development potential of microsystem technology. It acts as a contact for industrial joint ventures and supervises several networks in education and the application fields of microsystem technology.
“We also offer smaller and medium sized enterprises access to high quality research and development services,” explained Doreen Friedrich. Yet ZEMI is also a powerful active force in initial and further training. Unlike the major concerns, these highly specialised SMEs on the sector could neither plan strategies for their personnel needs nor foster contacts to young recruits in good time from schools and universities. For instance, the Microsystems Summer School Berlin, an annual event since 2006, offers employees and students an opportunity to learn about the current trends and to establish contacts.
As a measure to improve the inhouse training situation as well in the Berlin/ Brandenburg region, the high tech training network ANH was launched in Berlin in 2007. This too is coordinated by ZEMI. Uta Voigt of ZEMI, coordinator for the training network, confessed that school leavers were often ignorant of many apprenticeship occupations like microtechnologist, precision optician, mechatronic technician and precision mechanic. “We not only communicate this at schools and trade fairs, we also offer companies comprehensive applicant management services,” continued Voigt. Well proven is the vocational alliance in which cooperating partners convey vocational content that is alien to the qualifying company. The alliance also enrichens the training with new sequences of operations, technical equippment or technologies as well as a diversity of production lines.
Klaus Oberzig
Internet: