Trainee Welcome Day for 53 newbies

Training and further education are very important at DS Smith. In the period from August to October 2014 53 young people began their careers at DS Smith. They were greeted and welcomed by the management as part of an education day.

DS Smith Packaging is a manufacturer of creative displays and intelligent packaging concepts out of the basic material corrugated cardboard. The packaging specialist develops solutions tailor made for customers with a focus on innovation. In the region Germany | Austria | Switzerland (D-A-CH) the company employs around 2,870 people at 25 locations.

Start of training at DS Smith l Packaging Division D-A-CH

At the start of training 2014 53 trainees and dual students were added to that number. They were greeted by the management as part of the annual Trainee Welcome Day and were given a deeper insight into the company.

"Dedicated and motivated employees are our most important asset," said Per Vinge Frederiksen, Managing Director of the D-A-CH region, greeting the young people and presenting the company and its values to them. At the end of his presentation he challenged the fresh blood before him: "Take responsibility for your own development and start thinking about your future position at DS Smith and how you want your career to progress today."

Stefanie Meier, HR Director of the D-A-CH region, informed the new trainees and students about the many different possibilities to continue developing during and after their training or studies at DS Smith. "Fostering and managing new talents are right at the top of our agenda. We want to offer defined career paths and development programmes in order to challenge and foster young people according to their abilities," she explained. "Their career prospects are very good, our retention rate is at almost 100%, assuming that the performance of the trainee or student is at the right level," she said.

Valentina Krieger, a second-year trainee packaging technologist in Design & Development, reported what the apprenticeship is really like. She clearly and practically showed, with the use of examples, how DS Smith involves new talents in projects and events. "DS Smith provides me with challenges, fun and friendly colleagues who are always willing to help. That's why I like working here," she said.

In the afternoon it got busy as the fresh talent worked out the meaning of the company values in a workshop and presented them themselves. Alongside the presentations and the site tour, there was time and opportunities in the breaks for the students to get to know one another and network.

In the D-A-CH region the company offers young people the opportunity to choose between 10 training professions and 5 courses of study at dual college. Currently, 166 trainees and students are making use of this offer. For more information on training and study offers at DS Smith D-A-CH see www.dssmith.com/ausbildung or www.dssmith.com/studium.

Thumbs up: Those who begin their training or dual studies at DS Smith l Packaging Division D-A-CH have the best prospects for the future. A total of 53 young people have seized this opportunity in 2014. They were welcomed by Stefanie Meier, HR Director, and Per Vinge Frederiksen, Managing Director D-A-CH.