Employees

Training and development as a success factor

Employee development

We promote a model of lifelong learning for all and support our management in their role as managers of change to strengthen MTU’s performance for the future.


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As part of a train-the-trainer program, vocational school teachers from the Stara Pazova Technical School in Serbia learn about dual-track training at MTU in Munich. We are training specialists for our new location, MTU Maintenance Serbia, in line with German standards.

Quality education

Innovative strength and competitiveness are key factors for success in our industry. In addition, current challenges such as climate change are causing profound changes in aviation. We are playing an active part in this transformation and shaping the future of aviation. This is the vision described in our MTU Principles. That is why we train and qualify our employees in specific important future fields such as the development of new propulsion concepts for emissions-free flight, digitalization, innovative production technologies, and new, agile working methods.

We are convinced that continuous, intensive employee development is essential for long-term success. This is why MTU is investing specifically in the training and development of its talented employees. In times of change, the company is expanding its leadership skills to include forward-looking management concepts such as change leadership in order to support change, reinforce personal responsibility and the ability to act, and convey trust and stability. Continuous personal and professional development of our employees also makes us an attractive employer for new hires and our own talented individuals. “We empower” is one of our global leadership values.

Fast Facts: #PropelledByLearning

Investing in the future
graphic
5.4

million euros is how much we invested in training our employees.

Time for education
graphic
2.6

days is how long our employees spent in training on average.

Cultivating talent
graphic
95

apprentices started their careers at MTU.

all figures at year-end 2022

In addition to industry-specific vocational training and dual work-study programs aimed at building up knowledge over the long term, we support and promote the development of all our employees—this is a key principle of corporate social responsibility as defined in the company’s Code of Conduct. In many areas of our business activities, aviation authorities prescribe additional qualification measures, such as mandatory training on human factors (failure through human error). Promoting training and development as well as avenues for personal development for employees and managers is also enshrined in the MTU Principles and in our HR strategy. In addition, starting in 2023, a target has been set in the area of training (average training days per employee), which will be included in the variable compensation of Executive Board members and executives. This ESG (environmental, social and governance) goal underlines how we see training our employees as a success factor for MTU’s future.

The head of human resources is responsible for the training and development of employees Group-wide. The full Executive Board receives an annual update on training indicators and discusses selected training initiatives.

We invest in our employees and their skills

The huge significance of training and development is reflected in the scale of opportunities we offer and how much we invest in them. This is based on our Group-wide works agreement in Germany, which guarantees access to training for all employees and requires management to conduct an interview with each employee once a year to discuss their development opportunities (training interview). This directive applies to 81.2% of the total workforce. At our sites in Germany, the works council is also involved in employee training in accordance with the German Works Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz) and has a say in the annual training and development program. International sites have their own regulations; at MTU Aero Engines North America, for example, an annual development plan is agreed with all employees.

We support our employees with a wide range of offerings to continuously develop their skills in the spirit of lifelong learning. Training needs are determined annually in a regular process in an interview between manager and employee or via departmental/company interviews by the in-house training team. A training history documents completed training and development courses. Training officers are on hand to answer questions relating to needs-focused training.

An online learning portal is the cornerstone for expanding multimedia learning. Increased use of digital and hybrid learning formats should ensure and flexibly support the training of specialists at all levels in the context of remote working. The portal gives employees the opportunity to organize their own development in consultation with their manager. The training team relies on a rolling training program in order to be able to respond each year to changing needs within the company as well as to outside requirements. Our Future Readiness Program, with the aim of promoting the digital mindset in the workforce, is an additional, open offering through which employees can find information, exchange ideas and network.

Employee training GRI 404-1

 

2022

2021

2020

Training days (total)

29,613

21,141

17,717

Training days per employee (Group-wide)

2.6

2.0

1.6

Training days according to employee category per manager

2.9

2.4

2.1

Training days per employee category per employee

2.6

2.0

1.6

Proportion of women in training courses

 18.2%

 16.0%

 16.3%

Data on training days for 2022 exclude the Rzeszów site in Poland due to a lack of data availability in the IT system; the site will be included in the report again starting in 2023.

In 2022, we again continued our extensive investment in employee training. The cost of all in-house and external training activities (without apprenticeships) throughout the Group stood at EUR 5.4 million (2021: EUR 4.2 million). This increase is mainly due to the fact that more and costlier training courses could be held in person again; moreover, numerous training courses that had been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic were held. The number of training days was also up on the previous year at 29,613 days (2021: 21,141), as was the average number of training days at 2.6 per employee (2021: 2.0).

Strengthening leadership skills in times of change

Change leadership has become an important skill for managers. That is why MTU is pushing ahead with developing its managers so they become companions and drivers in change situations in order to strengthen the company’s future performance. Especially in times of change, the MTU leadership values (“We create trust”, “We empower”, “We transform”) take on even more relevance as a shared basis for managers’ values and conduct. The values are intended to provide orientation and formulate expectations for leadership behavior. To this end, we have further consolidated this leadership values process across various formats.

Virtual “leadership nuggets” on selected leadership topics provide managers with fresh momentum for their everyday leadership. A Leadership Forum regularly provides relevant information on key leadership topics, such as hybrid leadership or trust in times of crisis. Large in-person group events, the Change Leadership Days, provide a platform for inspiration and exchange. A change team in the human resources department supports managers locally in implementing changes in their work situations and provides assistance with company-wide change processes such as the Innovative Culture project.

MTU also offers development opportunities and programs across all levels in order to identify and best cultivate new talent, while supporting our existing managers in their professional development. A key tool is the Development Center, which, by way of exercises and interviews, supports high-potential employees in honing their individual development plan for assuming a management position. The process defined as part of the Development Center is designed to objectively evaluate talented individuals and promote their visibility throughout the company. In addition to Development Centers throughout Germany, an international Development Center was also held in the reporting year. Some 91% of new managers with leadership responsibilities appointed in 2022 had participated in Development Center activities; this means we have achieved a high penetration rate with this format.

Talent management also comprises a mentoring program for potential candidates from the German sites offering professional and personal development as well as cross-hierarchical and cross-divisional exchange and networking. Potential candidates are employees with the potential to take on a professional or disciplinary management role. Being designated as having potential is the first step toward participation in the talent management process.

MTU also offers new and experienced managers the opportunity to receive management transition or pit-stop coaching with optional reflection and sparring components.

Our programs

We have numerous Group-wide initiatives that we use to develop our managers and support them both professionally and personally:

In addition, there are site-specific offerings for managers, such as "Let's leadership together" run by MTU Aero Engines Polska.

A boost for newcomers

At our MTU Aero Engines North America site, we have a rotation program for entry-level graduates that takes them through a variety of departments focusing on different areas of engineering. Moreover, we cover a certain portion of tuition fees for employees there who return to university to obtain a master’s degree as part of their development plan. In Germany, we offer an 18-month junior entry and trainee program called JET, which provides comprehensive insights into MTU and its structures and processes, and prepares trainees for their future position.

Top-flight apprenticing at MTU

For us, vocational training is a central component of securing promising young employees. In Germany, we offer a solid grounding in ten different trades as part of a dual work-study approach, while the places we offer for students taking dual-track courses of study offer different specializations. We pursue a holistic approach that goes beyond specialist topics to also cover social and ecological aspects, for instance through health, occupational safety and environment days or through corporate social responsibility. → For examples, see the section about Corporate social responsibility In 2022, we took on 95 young people as apprentices at MTU in Germany.

Our new apprentices start their careers

Apprentices have made up a constant proportion of MTU’s workforce for many years; in 2022 they accounted for 2.9% of the total workforce (2021: 3.3%); in Germany, where most of our apprenticeships take place, the share was 3.4%. As of the end of the year, MTU employed a total of 330 apprentices (2021: 349).

Budding aviation experts
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330

apprentices were on board with us last year. They complete a two-to-three-year apprenticeship based on Germany’s dual-track system or an 18-month on-the-job training course at our site in Canada.

In addition to apprenticeships, MTU also collaborates with German vocational academies in Stuttgart, Ravensburg and Berlin as well as with Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University to offer practical courses of study in business administration, information technology, mechanical engineering and business engineering. What’s more, we participate in numerous educational projects and initiatives for children and young people. → Corporate social responsibility

For the new site, MTU Maintenance Serbia d.o.o, the company has established a training concept based on the dual system used in Germany in collaboration with the Aviation Academy Belgrade. To achieve a high level of qualification for the new employees and prepare them for working with the specific requirements of aviation, a large number of them are completing several months of on-the-job training at MTU’s German sites.


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