Marc Llistosella, Chief Executive Officer of Knorr-Bremse AG: “Knorr-Bremse is in the middle of a cultural transformation. We are refining our leadership culture, boosting collaboration, and wishing to set new standards in communication and interaction. This transformation also includes a transparent salary system. It will let our employees profit from benefits in their pay packet as part of a new salary system based on a 40-hour week. This transformation is of fundamental importance to us if we are going to remain attractive for top candidates in the jobs market.”

Dr. Claudia Mayfeld, the Executive Board member responsible for Human Resources and Labor Director at Knorr-Bremse AG: “Our employees give their full commitment to our company every day. This is an important foundation of our success. As an employer, it is important to us that our employees benefit from an overall attractive package. By implementing a new remuneration system based on a 40-hour week and clearly defined career paths, we are establishing competitive remuneration that rewards performance and taking a further step toward a modern work culture. It also means that we are responding constructively to our workforce’s suggestions.”

Approximately 5,500 people across Germany work for Knorr-Bremse. The new salary system is planned to be implemented progressively at all sites by likely 2026, starting with the Knorr-Bremse site in Berlin.

Dr. Claudia Mayfeld: “We hope for constructive and rewarding negotiations with each of the competent works councils. Together, we can take an important step for the employees at Knorr-Bremse and make our working environment even more attractive.”

Experimenting together

This year, 20 participants have already signed up for Girls Day at Knorr-Bremse in Munich. After a preliminary safety briefing, things really get started. First, the young visitors explore the training workshop and the Knorr-Bremse development center. Then they settle down to do experiments. Using an unlikely mix of ingredients – including screws, staples, wires and a lemon – the girls learn how to generate electricity. Then, in a second experiment, they work together to assemble the world’s smallest electric motor. Finally, once they have been introduced to the many vocational apprenticeships available at Knorr-Bremse, they take part in an exciting quiz.

The Knorr-Bremse site in Aldersbach is also hosting a Girls Day event full of experimentation, tinkering and inventive fun. Located to the east of Munich, not far from the Czech border, the facility is due to welcome 10 technology enthusiasts. The day’s program includes building a binary electromechanical clock, after which the girls will be shown around the training center and encouraged to discuss their technical questions with the apprentices there. “Experience shows that schoolgirls particularly enjoy doing experiments together, with help and support from our apprentices. Many of the girls who attend Girls Day are so inspired that they go on to apply for internships or apprenticeships with Knorr-Bremse,” says Andreas Schinhärl, Head of Training in Aldersbach.

Encouraging talented young people at Knorr-Bremse

Getting young people excited about technology is not, of course, something that only happens on Girls Day. Knorr-Bremse organizes briefing events and roadshows several times a year, and offers internships all year round. The Company is always seeking to motivate schoolchildren, trainees, apprentices and students to take up careers in technology.

“At Knorr-Bremse, we give our apprentices a range of excellent practical skills, and we help them prepare for their classes and exams,” explains Florence Bröcheler, Head of Training in Munich. “But we also offer a broad selection of advanced training and language courses, and reimburse some of the travel costs. In principle, it’s also perfectly possible to arrange international internships or school visits abroad. We regularly organize various other events to let young people know about development opportunities at Knorr-Bremse, such as our Girls for Tech camp. This gives girls with an interest in technology an opportunity to work on technical projects at Knorr-Bremse and then present the results of their efforts,” she adds.

Since 2004, Knorr-Bremse has also been a staunch supporter of the mentorING network, which arranges for experienced mentors to assist women students at Munich Technical University with their personal and professional development. Another initiative in which Knorr- Bremse is involved is “MINT 4 Girls” (MINT = math, IT, natural sciences and technology), a long-term program that aims to interest schoolgirls in technology and encourage more women to study STEM subjects.

The Top Employers Institute has certified the excellence of Knorr-Bremse’s HR development programs, which reflect the company’s employee-friendly approach and above-average performance as an employer. The Institute surveyed six top-level HR domains covering a total of 20 key HR criteria including, for example, People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Wellbeing and Diversity & Inclusion.

“Once again, Knorr-Bremse AG has been awarded our ‘Top Employer Ingenieure Deutschland’ certification for 2022! This year, as a member of the Top Employers community, the company distinguished itself by its above-average performance in respect of Sustainability, Wellbeing and Digital HR. Last year, we saw the biggest improvements in Learning, Performance and Career. Congratulations once again on a very well-deserved award – as Top Employer of Engineers in Germany 2022,” says Patrik Rendel, Regional Manager DACH at the Top Employers Institute.

The Top Employers Institute is the global authority on recognizing excellence in people practices. It was established 30 years ago and has certified over 1,857 Top Employers in 123 countries and regions on five continents this year alone. Together, these certified Top Employers positively impact the lives of more than 8 million employees globally.

New talents welcomed to Knorr-Bremse in Berlin, Munich, Aldersbach, and Düsseldorf

“We provide our new apprentices with intensive support during their first few weeks, to get them ready for this special part of their lives. This includes telling them how their training is structured, setting them up with protective equipment, giving them a close-up tour of the plant, briefing them on occupational health and safety, and giving them some basic training,” says Manuel Zimmermann, Head of Training in Berlin. Just like last year, eleven young people are starting their vocational training at Knorr-Bremse’s Berlin plant in 2021: six machinists (including one young woman), two industrial mechanics, two mechatronics technicians, and one warehouse logistics specialist (another young woman). Their future career prospects within the company are very good: In 2021, all apprentices who completed their training in Berlin were offered permanent positions with Knorr-Bremse.

“Throughout the year, we take part in trade fairs, information events, and similar initiatives for high-school students to get young people excited about our apprenticeship programs. The high quality of our vocational training and our impressive career prospects have proven very popular. We also make a point of encouraging young women to pursue technical careers,” explains Florence Bröcheler, Head of Training in Munich, where six apprentices and seven students on work-study degree courses were welcomed this week. Over the next three years, they will be trained as mechatronics technicians and industrial administrators, or work toward bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering, information systems, and computer science. “We start off the first week with an orientation program, so everybody can get to know each other – this makes it easier to transition from the classroom to the working world. A first-aid class, computer training, and a scavenger hunt around the site also help the apprentices adjust to their new jobs,” adds Bröcheler.

Award-winning apprenticeship programs

In Aldersbach in the German state of Bavaria, 15 young people, including six women, are looking forward to starting their new careers: five machinists, three electronics technicians specializing in industrial systems, three mechatronics technicians, and two warehouse logistics specialists. One of the apprentice machinists has also chosen to pursue a work-study degree in mechanical engineering. The outstanding quality of Knorr-Bremse’s vocational training programs has paid off: A total of 27 apprentices successfully completed the IHK (Chamber of Commerce and Industry) qualification this year. Four of them were also the proud recipients of top scores and special honors. “We offered all of them employment options at Knorr-Bremse after their apprenticeships, and we want to give the new cohort this same opportunity. We look forward to teaching this new group of young people over the next three years. As soon as the pandemic allows, we plan to hold our traditional ‘get-to-know-you’ day, involving lots of recreational activities and great food,” says Andreas Schinhärl, Head of Training in Aldersbach.

Kiepe Electric, a subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse located in Düsseldorf, welcomed two industrial administrators and one electronics technician specializing in industrial systems. “The first few days are always really exciting for our new apprentices. First, we introduce them to their key contacts. We also answer any questions they may still have, discuss the vocational training process, and get to know each other better over team lunches. We’ve also found that it makes good sense for them to build relationships with the more experienced apprentices who started the previous year,” says Thomas Thiede, Head of HR in Düsseldorf. “Our apprentices enjoy all the advantages of a training program in a medium-sized company coupled with the career opportunities offered by a global corporation. That’s what makes the apprenticeship program at Kiepe Electric particularly attractive.”

Knorr-Bremse continues to recruit new talent despite pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many companies with exceptional challenges over the past 18 months. Because vocational schools were closed, the instructors at Knorr-Bremse had to cover more theory in their classes. Another change was the fact that popular vocational training fairs and career information events in schools moved online. This allowed Knorr-Bremse to make personal contact with many school-leavers and directly answer their questions in online video chats. Munich also gave applicants the option of taking virtual tours of the Knorr-Bremse grounds, to give them a first impression of the site. During the pandemic, Knorr-Bremse Munich took part in “Girls Day” and the “Girls for Technology Camp”, arranging interesting virtual experiments. And apart from information events and career fairs, students have plenty of opportunities to get to know the company better by taking part in internships.

Knorr-Bremse accepts applications for apprenticeships throughout the year. Interested candidates who have already received their year-end report card can apply on the Knorr-Bremse careers site.

Getting young people excited about technology

But it’s not just on Girls Day that Knorr-Bremse is on the lookout for young women engineers: The company offers information events several times a year as well as internships throughout the year aimed at encouraging high-school students, apprentices and college students to choose technical careers. “We would be especially happy to see more girls getting excited about technical careers,” says Florence Bröcheler, Head of Vocational Training at Knorr-Bremse in Munich. “To make this happen, we offer a range of activities for young people to learn about career opportunities at Knorr-Bremse.”

Other Knorr-Bremse initiatives in this area include the “Girls for Technology” camp. Every year since 2002, girls have signed up to work on technical projects at Knorr-Bremse and then presented their findings to an audience. In addition, since 2004 Knorr-Bremse has supported the popular “mentorING” program, which provides female students at the Technical University of Munich with mentors, encourages them in their career development, and helps them network. And since 2016 Knorr-Bremse has offered in-company events in connection with the “MINT 4 Girls” initiative (MINT = mathematics, IT, natural sciences, and technology). As part of “KB for Kids”, the company also offers the children of employees the chance to explore its apprenticeship programs and get a first taste of soldering, fastening screws, and drilling in its workshop.

Certification by Top Employers Institute recognizes that Knorr-Bremse's human resources strategy and management are focused on the professional and personal development of the company’s employees. The underlying assessment covers six overarching HR domains comprising 20 topics, including People Strategy, Work Environment, Talent Acquisition, Learning, Well-being, and Diversity & Inclusion.

Top Employers Institute CEO David Plink says: “Despite the challenging year we have experienced (which has certainly made an impact on organizations around the globe), Knorr-Bremse has continued to demonstrate the power of putting their people first in the workplace. We are proud to share this year’s announcement and congratulate the organizations who have been certified in their respective countries through the Top Employers Institute program.”

Established 30 years ago, Top Employers Institute has this year certified over 1600 organizations in 120 countries and regions. Together, these certified companies positively impact the lives of over 7 million employees worldwide.