Kleinknecht, Active Participant in Germany’s Student Apprenticeship Training System

A levitating table tennis ball could be just the key to sparking a young person’s interest in pursuing a technical career. Kleinknecht, a member of the global Burke Porter Group (BPG) and headquartered in Siegen-Eisern, Germany, is committed to supporting younger generations in the local community.

According to NPR, Germany’s highly successful manufacturing sector – with its reputation for top-quality products – depends partly on the country’s student apprenticeship training system, of which Kleinknecht is an active participant. Kleinknecht’s in-house training program for electrical engineers teaches the skills needed to work on the latest technologies, such as intelligent networking for industrial automation (Industry 4.0). Working with the University of Kassel, Kleinknecht participated in the 2017 Company Contact Fair, introducing themselves as a prospective employer in the field of electrical and mechanical engineering and automation, and offering the opportunity for scholarships or for writing a thesis or dissertation. To further demonstrate their commitment to fostering young, interested students in the local community, the company also sponsored a booth at Technical Adventure Day 2017.

With the slogan “Experience Technology Live,” this yearly event is specially designed for younger kids to get in touch with technology for the first time and for teenagers to make future career choices. At the Kleinknecht booth, young adults were invited to learn about modern automation and drive technology by exploring the way a directed airflow can be used to levitate a table tennis ball. Every year Kleinknecht’s advanced apprentices participate in this event. For this year’s booth, they developed, built and programmed modern automation components in the demonstration system – and brought it to life for a wide-eyed audience of young people.

Kleinknecht believes that the opportunity to work with the latest technologies will strengthen the motivation of tomorrow’s specialists. Solving problems as a team is a perfect basis for tasks in the professional life after the apprenticeship period is complete. Kleinknecht invests extensively in the training of young people, who are the employees of tomorrow. The goal is to maintain the strength of the company – and the community – both now and into the future.

Click here to visit Kleinknecht’s website for more information. To learn about how Burke Porter Group is involved with STEM education, please visit the Burke Porter Group blog.