Trainees at Knorr-Bremse: a look behind the scenes

Whatever your area of interest – machine tools, industrial engineering, mechatronics, electronics, business administration – Knorr-Bremse is a popular place to train, offering a broad range of mainly technical careers. The global market leader in braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles has a long tradition of supporting the work-study approach to vocational training. In 2023, Knorr-Bremse will be celebrating a very special anniversary at, for example, its Berlin plant: “100 Years of Vocational Training”!

What’s so special about training with Knorr-Bremse? The technology leader nurtures each individual’s talents and abilities, ensuring that trainees are personally supported by competent, experienced instructors. What’s more, apprentices learn in a state-of-the-art working environment. As well as an attractive salary, they receive plenty of financial support and other perks.

Learning new things in near-real-world conditions

“In Berlin, we offer four different kinds of apprenticeships. That’s why we’ve formed very successful relationships with a wide variety of vocational colleges – because the work-study training system depends on a close-knit combination of theory and practice for its success. If you want a challenging job once you’ve finished your general schooling, you’re interested in cutting-edge technologies, and you’d like to learn something new every day while working in a near-real-world environment, then I can strongly recommend our vocational training regime,” comments Manuel Zimmermann, Head of Training at Knorr-Bremse’s Berlin site.

Most of the courses are based on the block model. For two weeks out of three, students work on the practical parts of their course in Knorr-Bremse’s workshops. In the third week, students go to vocational college to work on the theoretical parts of the course. At Knorr-Bremse, apprentices learn what they need to know for their future careers in training workshops that have been optimized for learning purposes. But they also work in the company’s various specialist departments, where they benefit from their instructors’ many years of experience. Knorr-Bremse is currently training a total of more than 130 young men and women in Germany. Last year alone, more than 40 young people started apprenticeships or work-study programs at Knorr-Bremse’s German sites – despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“We put a lot of investment into high-quality training. After all, today’s apprentices are tomorrow’s skilled workers – once they’ve finished their training, we usually offer them full-time jobs,” explains Florence Bröcheler, Head of Training in Munich. “Individual support, reimbursement of travel expenses and work clothes, mentoring for professional and personal development, help while preparing for exams – these are just some of the reasons why training with us makes sense. If asked, Knorr-Bremse can even arrange international internships or school visits abroad.”

And now, digital learning is an integral part of the training program – Knorr-Bremse has already set up a digital learning platform for apprentices in Aldersbach, Munich and Berlin. The apprentices are given iPads so they can access the e-learning courses on offer whenever they want and systematically build up their knowledge and skills.

Careers fairs as entry points

There are currently 34 young men and women training in Berlin. Some of them enjoyed working at Knorr-Bremse as high-school interns, others found out about Knorr-Bremse at a careers fair – like Dominik Bobon, for example. He’s currently training as a machinist at the Berlin site, and is full of enthusiasm: “To be honest, there’s nothing here I don’t enjoy. But what I like best is the teamwork, both among the apprentices and between them and the instructors. When instructors and apprentices all have breakfast together – that’s really great, too. The work is seriously varied, and you can learn something new every day, as I keep hearing from other apprentices at the vocational college. For me, getting an apprenticeship at Knorr-Bremse Berlin was like hitting the jackpot!”

Once he’s passed his final exams, Dominik hopes to be offered a full-time position at Knorr-Bremse so he can gain work experience. He could also easily imagine taking further specialist training courses at a later stage to develop his skills and take on more responsibility.

Knorr-Bremse’s site in Munich is currently training 45 apprentices in three different years. Jannik Fuchs is one of them. He’s in his second year of training as an industrial administrator and has already learned a lot: “What’s special about my training is the way we apprentices are given such a lot of help throughout the course; we also get a great overall package. Quite apart from vocational college, there’s so much extra support, such as in-house tuition in English, economics and social studies, bootcamps in subjects like Excel, Word and PowerPoint, and advice on time management and self-organization. I also love the way the training is structured. You spend time in all the departments, including marketing, sales, purchasing, accounting and controlling, so you get a really good business overview. And while I’m working there, I’m treated as an employee rather than just an apprentice, so I’m asked to do the same things as other full-time colleagues and I’m given my own projects – I’m given responsibility,” explains Jannik enthusiastically. He first became aware of Knorr-Bremse while he was still at high school. During a class tour of the Knorr-Bremse site in 2016, he found out about the company’s training opportunities and three years later, applied directly to Munich. “What I really want to do is continue working in Knorr-Bremse’s aftermarket sales once I’ve completed my training. Thanks to the many professional development opportunities here, I’ll be able to learn more about my specialist area by attending seminars, and then expand my knowledge even further by taking a specialist diploma or studying for a degree,” says Jannik, describing his plans for the future.

Integration and teamwork are top priorities

“We regularly take part in Germany’s nationwide Girls Day campaign, aiming to get more young women interested in technical careers. Via this campaign, as well as our presence at careers fairs and regional schools, we’re able to reach a lot of young people and interest them in our vocational training,” comments Andreas Schinhärl, Head of Training at Aldersbach. Based in Lower Bavaria, the Knorr-Bremse site is currently training 50 apprentices in three different years. Kristina Bieder is one of them. She’s in her first year of training as a machinist.

She too discovered Knorr-Bremse when she attended a careers fair. “I think it’s brilliant, the way they let us apprentices work very autonomously and creatively – we’re also given top-quality equipment. First, we’re using state-of-the-art machinery, and second, we’re allowed to use iPads to help us with e-learning. The things that really motivate me are the great team spirit between apprentices of all ages and stages, and the sheer variety of the Aldersbach training program,” explains Kristina. Once she’s finished her apprenticeship, she’d like to take advantage of the continuing education opportunities at Knorr-Bremse to become a master craftswoman or technician.

Knorr-Bremse subsidiary Kiepe Electric, based in Düsseldorf, also regularly takes on apprentices. Mike Ahrweiler is currently in his third year of training as an electronics technician specializing in industrial engineering. “Where I used to live, there were two streetcar services I regularly traveled on. Out of interest, I asked around to find out which companies were involved in building the vehicles, and that’s how I first became aware of Kiepe Electric GmbH in Düsseldorf. I was so excited by the offers on the website that I immediately applied for an apprenticeship,” explains Mike. “I especially enjoy the variety of the work, from designing circuit diagrams to planning projects and assembling systems in the training workshop. Already, we’re being prepared for work in the individual departments, as well as our final exams. What’s special about my training course is the strong sense of togetherness among the apprentices – we’re all always helping each other, regardless of which year we’re in. What’s more, we’re also learning to work on our own and take responsibility at an early stage.”

What’s he going to do next? Having successfully completed his exams, Mike already knows he’s in line for a full-time job. He also plans to study electrical engineering and IT.

Would you like to join the Knorr-Bremse team and do an apprenticeship with us?

If you would, just send us your application via the Knorr-Bremse careers page – we look forward to hearing from you. We accept apprenticeship applications all year round!