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By Melissa Eddy
Melissa Eddy traveled to Gifhorn, Germany, to speak with workers participating in an educational program at a Continental plant.
When Emrullah Karaca started working at a plant in Gifhorn, Germany, where auto parts supplier Continental manufactures factors for hydraulic brakes, he was looking for transitional work after finishing high school.
But after spending more than two decades building a career at the plant, Karaca, a 49-year-old father of three, learned that Continental plans to close the plant until 2027. Faced with an arduous search for assignments, he returned to the factory. school to download his industrial certificate, courtesy of his employer.
This is a mandatory step if you need to find a job in Germany, where, despite the obvious lack of professional painters, diplomas and certifications count even more than painting experience. ” I have never needed it until now, because I was here,” Mr. Karaca.
The educational program that Karaca and 80 of his colleagues will attend is part of an initiative introduced through Continental for workers to acquire the skills they want for new jobs, either at Continental or at neighboring companies.
Continental is not alone in facing the demanding situations of Germany’s changing business landscape, as the manufacturing sector transforms to meet carbon relief targets, creating disruptions within the workforce. Thus, in 2021, it joined 70 other corporations, adding Bayer, DHL and Infineon. , and Siemens, to shape the Alliance for Opportunity, an initiative to retain the other 2. 7 million people in its collective workforce.
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