Skip to main content

Press contact

NKE launches career maturity programme for young technicians

. Janet Mo

At the end of March, NKE Austria GmbH launched a vocational maturity programme for young people in technical professions in cooperation with the Berufsförderungsinstitut Oberösterreich (BFI). The Berufsreifeprüfung enables NKE employees with technical training to obtain a full Matura and thus further study and career opportunities.

NKE launched the Berufsreife programme, in which ten employees participate, on 23 March 2010 with a preparatory course in mathematics and mechanical engineering. The in-house course is intended to expand the employees' technical skills in the areas of engineering, quality assurance and production. In the long term, the Berufsreife will enable students to pursue part-time studies, for example in mechanical engineering, mechatronics, production, management or industrial engineering. However, the programme also aims to retain good technicians at the Steyr-based bearing manufacturer in the long term. In addition to the preparatory courses, NKE supports the participants in acquiring the professional maturity in particular through flexible handling of working hours. This is also the biggest factor in the costs of about 40,000 euros after subsidies that NKE spends on the vocational maturity programme.

The new vocational maturity programme is part of a comprehensive training and further education offer of the Steyr-based bearing manufacturer. NKE is currently training 15 apprentices, including many young women. From September, eight more new apprentices will be taken on. At the end of 2008, NKE set up an apprentice workshop, which is also used by other companies in the region. In order to make the apprentices fit for the international market, English courses are on the programme at NKE from the second year of apprenticeship, because the rolling bearings from Steyr are sold in 60 countries through 15 sales offices and 240 trade partners.