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NKE puts the emphasis on employee training

. Janet Mo

NKE AUSTRIA puts the emphasis on employee training. Last year, each of the about 200 employees spent on average five days in training. This can be compared to an average of 1.2 days per year at other Austrian companies. The training courses covered all areas of business such as IT, engineering, production, organisation and quality management.

NKE has set up a training centre for further education with affiliated workshops in Steyr-Gleink. These facilities can also be used by other companies in the region. The training is conducted by reputable external trainers, such as the Malik Management Center.

Part of the extensive further education and training offer is the vocational certificate program that young NKE staff are able to take. This offers technical training to acquire a full-fledged “Matura” (equivalent of A-levels in the UK, or high school diploma in the US), and thus enables further study and career opportunities. The NKE in-house apprenticeship currently comprises of 19 apprentices, a rate of 1 in 10 of its employees. Also, to prepare the apprentices for the international market, NKE provides compulsory English courses starting in the second year.
 
"In 2009 and 2010, we spent totally 455,000 euro on further education and training. This does not include the costs of the apprenticeships! We’ve spent nearly another 78,000 euro per year on our in-house apprentice workshop," said Thomas Witzler, Head of Human Resources Management in NKE. "In the new year we will implement other measures, including training in the area of Lean Production with a diploma, further education for staff without a completed vocational training, technical training for non-engineers, and we’ll also intensify our CNC training."

NKE produces standard and special bearings for all industrial applications. In addition to product development and application engineering NKE provides a full range of technical services and training. NKE’s products are distributed through 17 international representative offices and more than 240 distribution outlets in 60 countries.