Training and Education
GRI 103-1,2,3; GRI 404-1,2,3
Employee Training and Development
Skills enhancement and professional development programs are as essential to our market success as they are to our employees’ ambitions. Oerlikon’s employee training and development programs include in-person and online learning and career development options, such as workshops and courses designed to upgrade existing skills and sessions that provide transition assistance.
Training for employees is part of the individual’s career and personal development planning, which is built into the performance reviews conducted at least twice a year between employees and their line managers. During these developmental conversations, the line managers can connect to the online training catalog to discuss, for example, formal training options and/or review other “on the job” development and growth opportunities or special projects. Our training catalog focuses mainly on soft skills for leaders and office workers. The training of technical work, such as, machine operation is handled locally according to the operating procedures of that country. The reviews are documented in the SuccessFactors system or in manual individual development plan templates, where SuccessFactors are not implemented.
In the U.S., we have been using the Red Vector Learning Management System for health and safety training for the past few years and are currently looking to expand the usage of the system to manage leadership development lessons. With Red Vector, employees have access to a library of eLearning courses and opportunities to link with additional vendor libraries. We also have the ability to create our own courses. The system allows us to track the participation and compliance on required classroom training programs.
In 2020, we increased the usage of new digital learning opportunities and pilots of platforms such as Udemy to offer employees the chance to learn safely from any location, on any device and at any time without incurring any COVID-19-related health risks. In 2021, we widened the distribution of these digital platforms within Oerlikon to continue enabling employee growth.
Apprenticeships
Oerlikon continued to seek out the next generation of talent even before future young professionals have entered the workforce. In cooperation with a number of schools, colleges and universities worldwide, we make hands-on, intensive apprenticeships and internships available to emerging innovators.
Horizons: High-Potential Talent Program
Launched in 2018, Oerlikon’s career accelerator program continues to nurture emerging talent over the course of an 18-month program. In addition to offering career path assistance, its focus includes developing leadership and business skills, creating visibility at senior levels and building networks. The first 37 graduates completed the program in December 2019. The second wave enrolled in September 2020 (in a program modified to ensure pandemic safety compliance) and will complete the program in spring 2022.
A part of the Horizons programs, teams formed to work on a specific business project over six months. For the second wave, the 25 participants were divided into five teams of five. The projects they worked on were based on current and real-life business topics, which saw them contribute to ideas for the business, products or identifying solutions to address challenges. At the end of that time, they presented their ideas and explained how they would tackle the project. These were then applied to the business. For example, the qualification process of our products in terms of sustainability stems from a Horizons team see here.
As of March 2020, when Oerlikon’s 2020 Sustainability Report was published, more than half of the graduates from the inaugural program had been promoted or received additional job responsibilities. That number has since risen to around 70%. A similar trend has been noted for the second wave of participants. During the program, more than 50% have already earned promotions or advanced their careers in other ways, which underlines a record of repeatable results from the program. Plans are in place to launch the third wave and a new regional accelerator program for high potential talents in 2022 – 2023. Moreover, a new high potential program, Oerlikon Rise, was launched in the first quarter of 2022 to promote regional talents.
Our talent programs also encourage multigenerational learning within a creative environment in which younger and more gender-diverse participants interact with mentors – senior leaders who share knowledge and details of project work and encourage a domino effect of learning across generations and business boundaries.
