Joint start to apprenticeship
Starting signal for the new generation at Covestro: On September 1, the new apprenticeship classes traditionally started their training and thus not only began their time at Covestro, but also actively participated in shaping an exciting day at the chemical group.
Joint Welcome Day in NRW
After a joint start to training was not possible in previous years due to corona, things were different this year: a total of 147 new trainees were collected in Leverkusen, Dormagen and Krefeld-Uerdingen and brought together to Ratingen for the joint Welcome Day.
There, Stephan Busbach, Head of Training Germany at Covestro, welcomed the group: "I am very happy that we were finally able to organize a joint Welcome Day again this year. This way, the trainees learn right from the start what our Covestro "We are 1" idea means!" said Busbach.
Thinking skills and creativity are required
After a joint breakfast, the trainees - among them future chemical technicians, chemical laboratory assistants and electronics technicians - quickly learned that thinking skills and creativity are very important at Covestro.
The first challenge was to build soapboxes out of recyclable Makrolon. This gave Covestro's new trainees a feel for circular economy and how it is anchored in everyday work at Covestro on their very first day. At the end, the soapboxes were dismantled, granulated and can be reused.
But the focus was not only on the learning aspect: in small groups, the trainees tested who could design the fastest soapbox and who could implement the vehicle most creatively. "Everyone had really good ideas and supported each other so that our soapbox became a real joint effort," the trainees were pleased about the joint work in the group. A good insight into how training and working at Covestro works: Contributing ideas, exchanging ideas with each other and thus achieving the goal together!
Onboarding continues in the coming weeks
New trainees also started their time at Covestro outside of North Rhine-Westphalia. In Brunsbüttel, 22 trainees and 14 start-up help participants were welcomed to the Welcome Day: In addition to basic information on the topic of safety and proper behavior in the workplace, the trainees were also directly challenged intellectually and creatively in a joint "Escape Game" to get to know the different training areas.
However, the Welcome Day did not mark the end of the introductory phase for the new trainees at Covestro, but rather the beginning of it. Starting in mid-September, the trainees from Brunsbüttel will travel together to Grömitz for four days, where the focus will be on team spirit and getting to know each other, in addition to initial learning units. In the coming weeks, all the new trainees at Covestro will then be given more in-depth training in their respective occupational groups.