Mercedes-Benz to invest more than 1.3 billion Euro in the qualification of its employees

Electrification and digitalisation are fundamentally changing the world of work. The transformation will lead to further development of all job profiles at Mercedes-Benz, the company announces. In Germany alone, Mercedes-Benz will invest more than 1.3 billion Euro in the qualification, training, and continuing education of its employees by 2030.

Turn2Learn is an extensive push that raises qualification at the company to a new level. It combines three elements: a wide range of learning opportunities via e-learning platforms, customized learning paths and in addition the previously available continuing education programs. These elements offer employees tailor-made qualification opportunities in production and administration – in different combinations digitally and face-to-face.

“For a fully electric and digital future as a luxury brand, we have generated a noticeable sense of new beginnings at Mercedes-Benz. Turn2Learn takes this up and puts the qualification for all employees at Mercedes-Benz on a new level. With Turn2Learn we create limitless opportunities for lifelong learning at Mercedes-Benz. Everyone can continue their education independent of time and place, and across all units and levels. As a company, we primarily rely on learning paths that enable us to forge ahead with digitalization and electrification. I am very pleased that Turn2Learn enables colleagues to educate themselves according to their personal interests in order to promote willingness for lifelong learning. In the transformation, lifelong learning is not a buzzword, but the condition for success — for the company and for each individual colleague,” says Sabine Kohleisen (photo), Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Human Resources & Labour Director.

Corporate management and the General Works Council have agreed to introduce an extensive range of further training and retraining via e-learning platforms for company and private use. In the future, this will offer employees an unprecedented variety of opportunities to learn independently and flexibly for their current job or future dream job. Free access to the entire range of platforms also gives employees the opportunity to pursue further training according to their personal interests. The company also bears the costs for the licenses here. The rollout will start gradually in the third quarter in administration and in first pilot areas of production.

Digital e-learning platforms usually offer several thousand online courses for almost all specialist units. The offer includes, for example, subject areas such as software, data science and cloud computing, the teaching of general business know-how and presentation techniques as well as agile working methods. The learning content can be used at any time and is packaged in compact units – often in the form of video tutorials, digital learning cards or online exercises.

From the very wide range of qualification options, employees will in future define customized learning paths as orientation for targeted and future-oriented professional training. When selecting the formats, the company enables employees to exercise as much self-determination as possible. Learning and education thus become a natural part of everyday working life. The learning paths are intended to accompany employees throughout their professional lives and will be continuously readjusted. This way, the company is also increasing the transparency of skills and abilities across teams and units.

Mercedes-Benz will place particular emphasis on qualifications that are crucial for the successful implementation of the company’s sustainable business strategy and digitalisation. For example, specific, preconfigured learning paths, such as data scientist or data architect, are defined for the data workers. These learning paths can be individually supplemented and adapted. To ensure learning paths are as individualized as possible and learning platforms are used efficiently Artificial Intelligence will be used in the future.

Employees in production are already receiving a wide range of continuing education on digitalisation and electrification. Production plants are becoming more and more intelligent, are networked and collect large amounts of data. With newly acquired data and methodological skills, employees working, for example, as data specialists can analyse the systems much better and use them more efficiently and effectively. Challenges and any disruptions in the production process can thus be recognized even earlier in the future and interruptions can be avoided.

In total, Mercedes-Benz employees completed almost 1.3 million hours of professional and personal training last year in Germany alone. In 2021 there were around 75,000 participations in training courses on software, coding and IT at Mercedes-Benz Group AG worldwide. At Mercedes-Benz, around 80 per cent of all training formats are already digital or hybrid. The additionally planned e-learning platforms can be used to cover learning needs more quickly and to better track learning success.