Responsibility for qualification & further training
Our number one priority is to identify our employees’ potential, increase their motivation and build their qualifications. These are our continuous objectives in developing our human resources and management staff. We consider this our responsibility in the interest of our employees, as well as in safeguarding the future of Messer. We fulfil this commitment with the help of special, target-group-oriented development programmes for junior managers at all management levels and through needs-based further training for each and every employee. Consistent recruitment policies and systematic succession planning guarantee qualified management for the company and increase the opportunities for every single person in terms of their individual advancement. As a special further training and development measure, Messer has offered an international employee exchange programme within Messer since 2006. To build on their professional and intercultural knowledge and experience, employees have the chance to work in their role at a different Messer company for up to six months. This programme focuses on the efficient and target-oriented passing on of expertise and experience within the company. Messer gives those participating in the programme the scope to determine the benchmarks for the exchange themselves. The exchange not only promotes better international collaboration within the Group, but also mutual understanding and informal solidarity.
Academy Messer Group “Junior Circle”
The Academy Messer Group “Junior Circle” is an internal training concept with a modular structure. It focuses on the transfer of knowledge by our own experts from a variety of company departments, combined with external lecturers. The programme is structured in five one-week modules with varying focal points as well as intercultural training for employees from various specialist fields. The first one-week training module includes the fundamentals, from our company history, to finance, to our entire product range. This training scheme for junior managers is accompanied by the Boston Business School.
Trainings
Once a year, each employee undergoes safety training tailored to their particular area of work.
On average, eight to ten per cent of technical staff are given individual training relating to changes and improvements in their area of work every year. This may include driving licences for fork-lift trucks, SAP postings for gas filling volumes or training in the transportation and use of hazardous substances.
Of our administrative staff, about 15 per cent take part in special training programmes every year. In 2013, the figures were 18 (13 males, five females) in the Academy Messer Group Junior Circle and 20 (19 males, one female) in general management training.
347 employees (307 males, 40 females) are listed in the Messer successor database and have been given special professional development recommendations and a personal training plan.
In addition, we came to a decision in 2013 to run a campaign aimed at improving executives’ knowledge of English, and this was started at the beginning of 2014. We plan to have approximately 40 per cent of our administrative staff attend English courses, at levels that depend on existing language knowledge.