How is excellence created? I am certain it is the combination of our talented, committed apprentices, our unique training facility and the supportive environment.
We as a training team are very concerned with individual support for our apprentices. This is why we work in small teams or even in one-on-one coaching sessions. A rigid curriculum that is the same for every apprentice would contradict our philosophy. Because individual support tailored to each person’s unique strengths and weaknesses requires unconventional formats and time. Our goal is to allow every apprentice to develop his or her abilities and skills through targeted coaching and by determining the individual training focus.
Especially during the third year of the apprenticeships, we aim to provide individual support for the time after the training course, depending on the apprentice’s chosen line of work, in order to give the new watchmakers the best possible career start after they have completed their training. After their apprenticeships, apprentices can choose one of three career paths: Service watchmaker in one of our showrooms, watchmaker at our production site, or watchmaker in our watch repair workshop. They become familiar with all three areas during their apprenticeship programmes.
We share our knowledge. For instance in the field of brand trainings: Every trainee is an ambassador for one brand of watches that we carry in our range. We get together in casual meetings regularly to exchange information and news about the watch models and history of the brand. These brand trainings are augmented with talks and visits to the different local manufactories. Thanks to the knowledge acquired in these events, our trainees find it much easier to work with watches made by different manufacturers.
We communicate openly and directly. Regular feedback is very important to us. It is the only way the apprentices and we as instructors can all continue to grow. It is how we can get better together. And it is the only way to build a trusting relationship between training management and our apprentices.
We are very proud of the many great achievements of our apprentices. For the fourth time running, apprentices of our company have won the Saxony State Watchmakers’ Competition, and in 2016 they took first place at the national level. For us as a training company and me as training manager, those are distinctions and an affirmation of the work we are doing. But above all it is our incentive to keep improving our training a little bit every day, to keep in tune with the times.
The environment of the city of Glashütte, which is known for training watchmakers, allows us to concentrate fully on the training. The free lodging we provide to our first-year apprentices allows the young people to learn together and make new friends quickly. The shared lodgings also let them build team spirit.
Moreover, Glashütte has what we feel is the best watchmaking school in Germany. Superbly trained specialist instructors using excellent equipment teach our apprentices the key theoretical foundations. Our one-of-a-kind training centre is equipped with the latest technology and all the tools one could need. This too is a key factor for good training.
These many building blocks taken together make for excellent training quality and lay the foundations for the top performances of our watchmaking apprentices. We will continue our quest for improvement, so we can be sure to maintain this kind of quality into the future.