Youth Recruitment and School - vdma.org

The VDMA and the WITTENSTEIN Foundation are bringing you to Berlin – to the most important industry event for mechanical and plant engineering.

For six weeks, the focus was on young people, their prospects and mechanical engineering throughout Germany. Several thousand offers for young talent at 407 company and university locations are proof of the success.

Young engineering talent meets industry decision-makers: 30 students discuss the future of mechanical engineering with leading executives at the Mechanical Engineering Summit 2025. Be there and contribute your perspective!

Many companies are still facing bottlenecks in the recruitment of young talent. The VDMA is therefore launching the "Weeks of Technology" together with its members and universities.

For the fifth time, exhibitors and VDMA members presented themselves to young visitors and provided exciting insights into the various apprenticeships in the construction equipment industry.

Young people in transition are an often overlooked but potentially valuable target group - also for the mechanical and plant engineering sector.

DescriptionIf done well and in an interesting way, addressing parents in a targeted manner can make an important contribution to securing the next generation of skilled workers in the long term.

In episode 7 of the video series "Mechanical Engineering meets Young Professionals", Miriam Härter and Florian Frühbeis from HAWE Hydraulik SE present their tasks at the plant in Freising.

Every year, around 250,000 young people try to find their way into vocational training after leaving school with the help of the transition area. There is a wide range of programs to choose from, but too often companies and young people do not find a match.

Several million people in Germany use elevators and escalators every day. And the number is growing. What opportunities does the industry offer and what does everyday working life look like? A planning and sales expert talks about her job.

Many young people in the transition period between school and work are suitable for training. Targeted support could attract them to careers in mechanical engineering.

Digitalization is driving the mechanical and plant engineering industry forward. This innovative strength is also reflected in the theses submitted by graduates from Germany and Austria.

How can we get young people interested in technology and thus in technical training occupations and degree programmes? How can we counteract the shortage of young talent?

Through the Walter Reiners Foundation, the VDMA Textile Machinery Association demonstrates its ongoing commitment to the next generation of engineers.

Promoting young talent is a key concern for companies and the VDMA.

In our mobilization package put together for you, you will find useful information, tips, guidelines and links for your participation in our joint young talent campaign.

Only half of all mechanical engineering companies are currently able to fill all apprenticeship positions. Many companies would like to train more people, but there is a lack of qualified applicants.

How we can get more young people interested in technical professions together.

At the board meeting of the VDMA LV BaWü, the board members were given an insight into the state-of-the-art production processes at TRUMPF and dealt intensively with forward-looking topics

Apprentices and students start their time at WITTENSTEIN with a week full of exciting experiences. Mr. Ismail Idali-Yahya, apprentice for metal technology, reports on his first days.

STEM professions are still predominantly male-dominated. In this virtual workshop, companies discussed specific measures to attract more women to engineering positions.

We, the education department of the VDMA, support our members in all matters relating to the recruitment of junior staff, schools, training, studies and further education and serve as a bridge to education policy. Here you will find the right contact person for your topic and your question.

Due to the authentic approach, many companies rely on their own trainees to reach pupils when recruiting young talent. The VDMA offers the right virtual training for your technical trainees.

Are you already using the new young talent portal of the VDMA? Here, young people are inspired for mechanical and plant engineering, informed about career opportunities and directly provided with suitable jobs. Attractive benefits are also waiting for VDMA members.

Student theses demonstrate the importance and diversity of digitalization opportunities in mechanical engineering

Since 2012, VDMA Cleaning Systems, together with its partners GMR Varalakshmi Foundation and Don Bosco DBTech, has been operating training centers for the education of young people in the fields of facility management and housekeeping in India.

GMRVF addresses the skills gaps between the demand in labor markets and the supply of skilled workers.

GMRVF has partnered with VDMA to provide vocational training in home economics at its various centers.

GMRVF operates the Centre for Empowerment and Livelihoods in Delhi (CEL-D), which provides entry-level job training to school and college dropouts aged 18 to 30 from underserved families.

The GMRVF has partnered with VDMA to offer vocational training in cleaning and housekeeping at its various centers.

How the market for candidates is changing, why companies have long since ceased to have a choice and why hurdles urgently need to be removed.

Technical professions are still strongly male-dominated. In view of the shortage of skilled workers, many companies are asking themselves how more women can be recruited and retained for technical professions.

Change is needed in various areas of education and working life to attract more women to technical professions. The latest study by the VDMA's Impuls Foundation investigates exactly what is needed. For the first time, the study focuses on the link between studies, career entry and the first years of employment for female engineers.

They are considered to be particularly demanding and at the same time they can choose their jobs: Companies supposedly have to roll out the red carpet for the young professionals of the so-called Generation-Z. But as is so often the case, cliché and reality differ considerably. Recruiting young talent has not become easier for industrial companies in the digital age. But with a little courage and creativity, Generation-Z can also be reached well. 

For the third time, the VDMA invites to the virtual career fair for young technical talent - TechTalents. On December 14 and 15, VDMA members will once again have the opportunity to present themselves as exciting technology employers. Be there!

The 600-page report of the Enquete Commission on Vocational Education and Training in the Digital World of Work lacks a clear message, criticizes Dr. Jörg Friedrich, head of the VDMA's education department.

The majority of companies in the mechanical and plant engineering sector are planning to recruit new staff. The situation has improved for young talent as the companies plan to expand their vocational training and dual study programs. Companies, on the other hand, are threatened with personnel bottlenecks that could endanger their innovative thrust.

Send us your video of a trainee project and win a Reaction video with exciting, wide-reaching YouTubers.

How do you use a saw? How do you calculate the area of a rectangle? Many trainees are at a loss here. "Technology" as a school subject exists in only a few federal states. What do mechanical engineers do to make up for the deficits?

Recruiting despite contact restrictions - no easy task. Use TALENTMASCHINE - the young talent portal for mechanical engineering with integrated job exchange. VDMA members save time and money.

Using influencers to recruit young people - but how? The VDMA is currently gathering initial experience with its YouTube campaign.

A recent VDMA investigation shows that The vast majority of young people can finish school without ever coming into contact with a proven technical education. Germany as a nation of technology cannot really afford this.

Fewer and fewer young people are interested in vocational training. Companies have to advertise for young trainees. How this can be done is shown in the "Handlungsleitfaden Nachwuchswerbung".

"Germany is the technology leader on the international markets and intends to remain so. Therefore, there is an urgent need for action on the part of education policy in digitizing our schools," comments Jörg Friedrich, head of the VDMA Education Department, on the results of the latest education monitor of the Cologne Institute of the German Economy (IW).

The VDMA educational policy offers a wide range of services in all areas of the education chain.

Did you know that YouTube is the number two search engine? Young people are responsible for this: they use the platform more and more to inform themselves. This can be used to attract young people.

It is difficult to get young people in the digital age enthusiastic about technical professions. So how to draw the attention of young people to mechanical and plant engineering? With the idols of the present, for example.

Internships are the most important building block in career orientation for young people and a valuable recruitment tool for companies. But they have to be done well.