With a craft certificate in hand

Eleven Schunk Group employees have successfully completed their further training qualification as warehouse logistics specialists in Heuchelheim. Most of them are now working in the new dispatch building, which has been in operation since January. “For 505 days, they’ve been studying for their further training qualification every Tuesday and Thursday after work – that’s a tough task and deserves respect!” This is how Kurt Weisz sums up his experience of taking part in the further training qualification as a warehouse logistics specialist at Schunk in Heuchelheim. As the seminar leader, Weisz taught the eleven prospective logistics specialists and supported them on their way to obtaining their craft certificate. All 11 were previously involved in logistics at the Schunk Group, with nine of them at the Heuchelheim location and two in Reiskirchen. However, they had no formal training for this role. One of them is Kai Schomber. The 38-year-old from Dutenhofen seized the opportunity to attend class for one and a half years and train within the company to be a logistics specialist. “It took me half a year to get back in the swing of learning – I hadn’t done that since I went to school,” recalls Schomber. “But we had a very good lecturer and great support from Schunk’s training workshop and instructors.” Schunk successfully qualifies employees in their further training endeavors With the further training qualification, the Schunk Group wanted to give logistics sector employees with practical experience the opportunity to reinforce their knowledge in a theoretical sense, and to prove this knowledge in the form of a Warehouse Logistics Specialist craft certificate. “Schunk traditionally attaches great importance to employee orientation,” emphasizes Personnel Manager Steffen Friedrich. “That’s why we are also committed to supporting further training qualifications.” The training program was set up together with the works committee, project partner ZAUG (Zentrum Arbeit und Umwelt - Gießener gemeinnützige Berufsbildungsgesellschaft mbH) and its further training qualification network, as well as ibs - Institut für Berufs- & Sozialpädagogik e.V. The project was supported by the Qualifizierungsscheck (“Qualification Check”) of ProAbschluss, a Hessian state initiative. For Schunk, this is already the fourth further training qualification initiative: In addition to the logistics specialists, machine and plant operators have already received additional training as part of two other measures. Another measure was also put in place for industrial mechanics. Applying knowledge in the new dispatch building In addition to receiving their craft certificate, most participants found themselves in a new working environment after completing their further training qualification: They are now working in the new dispatch building in Heuchelheim. With an investment of around 10 million euros, Schunk has bundled the entire logistics of carbon production at the site. Kai Schomber also works in the building, which measures 50 by 40 meters in floor space. Over three floors in the administration area and two floors in the warehouse, the hall offers almost 4,000 square meters of usable space and can accommodate up to 1,600 European pallets and 11,500 storage boxes. Up to 30 trucks are dispatched daily at the three loading ramps. Compared to the dispatch building previously used at the site, a lot has changed: Thanks to new software, management requires next to no paper, individual orders can be merged, and the stocks are transparent at all times. The most modern conveyor and storage technology is used and, together with the ergonomic workplace design, makes employees’ work easier. And despite all the innovations, energy is also saved. The new dispatch building has been in operation since January – and it offers further training qualification participants the opportunity to immediately apply their new knowledge. Logistics Manager Thomas Stipp notes: “The employees now have a completely different understanding of their work and approach their activities in a much more comprehensive manner.”

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