Koenig & Bauer vocational school celebrates anniversary

Some 200 guests, staff and students celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Koenig & Bauer on-site vocational school in Wurzburg, Germany, on July 6.

In 1868 Koenig & Bauer set up the world’s first in-house vocational school to establish dual apprenticeships long before state vocational schools took off. Initially founded to train winegrowers for factory work, today the school is the company’s modern “talent factory.”

“As a new-generation teaching facility, today the vocational training school prepares tomorrow’s skilled workers for the challenges of a digitalized world,” said  Claus Bolza-Schunemann, CEO of Koenig & Bauer, at the ceremony in Wurzburg.

Since 1868, well over 7,000 people have taken the first steps in their careers at the vocational school. In its anniversary year, it is responsible for the qualification of 120 apprentices.

Amid a rising trend of unfilled apprenticeship places, Eberhard Sasse, president of the Bavarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, emphasized the development of young people embarking on the path of vocational training. “The German economy is very nearly desperately looking for well-trained specialists,” he said. He praised the company's efforts to tackle the shortage of skilled workers.

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