The Volkswagen Group today presented its “Best Apprentice Awards 2019” to its best apprentices from all over the world, honoring their outstanding performance and professional competence. The prizes for the 49 young talents with 19 vocations were presented by the Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Dr. Herbert Diess, the Member of the Board of Management with responsibility for Human Resources, Gunnar Kilian, and the President of the Global Group Works Council, Bernd Osterloh.
At the award ceremony, Diess said: “You are the 49 best apprentices from 20 countries in a Group with more than 19,000 apprentices. That is a great achievement. We are very proud of you. You have completed your apprenticeship at a time when our industry is changing drastically. I would like you to play an active role in shaping this transformation. You need to argue, persuade and overcome resistance. Stand up for your future and the future of Volkswagen.“
Gunnar Kilian said: ”At Volkswagen, we place considerable value on excellent training for young specialists. We want young people to firmly grasp opportunities. We support them in their efforts and offer training in about 60 vocations, with 50 dual courses of study throughout the world. In an era of rapid technological change, a solid training is more important than ever before. It is the firm foundation which you can build on to repeatedly develop new knowledge and expertise in a sustainable way.”
The 12 young women and 37 young men were honored at a ceremony held in the hall at Hafen1 at the Volkswagen facilities in Wolfsburg.
Osterloh said: “The Works Council congratulates the Volkswagen Group’s best apprentices. With their strong performance, they have taken the lead worldwide – just as our Group is doing. Nowadays, in an era of upheavals, we need motivated employees like you more than ever before. The presentation of awards to our best apprentices throughout the world is also a success for our strong vocational training and the training system of the Volkswagen Group. Vocational training develops and shapes tomorrow’s specialists. Every euro that we invest in training brings tenfold returns in other fields.”
49 award-winners had already been honored in their home countries for their commitment to their companies and for their knowledge and skills in their training vocations. 21 of the Best Apprentice Award winners will be starting a degree course to develop their knowledge and skills in greater depth. In addition, two young specialists will receive study grants. Three of the award-winners from Germany will be receiving two years of individual support in their professional family within the “talent group for young specialists”.
The apprentices honored today were:
| Audi AG Brussels | Belgium | Redouane El Kadaoui |
| Audi AG Ingolstadt | Germany | Markus Braun |
| Audi AG Neckarsulm | Germany | Jan Holeyko |
| Audi Hundgria Motor Kft. | Hungary | Simon Zoltán |
| Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. | Italy | Youssef El Madi |
| Bentley Motors Ltd. | United Kingdom | Lewis Clarke |
| Porsche AG Zuffenhausen-Leipzig | Germany | Lukas Homner |
| Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. | Italy | Matteo Pancaldi |
| FAW-Volkswagen Automotive | ||
| Company,Ltd. | China | Huayun Pu |
| Man Energy Solutions SE | Germany | Fabian Schickinger |
| Man Energy Solutions SE | Germany | Karoline Janson |
| Man Truck & Bus AG Munich | Germany | Johann Manfred Obermeier |
| Man Truck & Bus AG Hamburg | Germany | Jana Rebber |
| Porsche Inter Auto | ||
| GmbH & Co. KG | Austria | Patrick Schiebinger |
| Saic-Volkswagen Automotive | ||
| Company Ltd. Shanghai | China | Hengzhu Zhang |
| Scania AB | Sweden | Emil Karlsson |
| Scania AB | Sweden | Jesper Adolfsson |
| Seat, S.A. | Spain | Albert LlanguasMontesinos |
| Sitech Poland | Poland | Dariusz Krupiński |
| Škoda Auto a.s. | Czech Republic | Lukáš Vaníček |
| Škoda Auto a.s. | Czech Republic | Zuzana Rábiková |
| Volkswagen AG Brunswick | Germany | Niels Günther |
| Volkswagen AG Emden | Germany | Lukas Saathoff |
| Volkswagen AG Kassel | Germany | Fabian Philippi |
| Volkswagen AG Salzgitter | Germany | Hannah Schildbach |
| Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg | Germany | Ronja Schönfisch |
| Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg | Germany | Lukas Traple |
| Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg | Germany | Tobias Bunar |
| Volkswagen AG Wolfsburg | Germany | Maria Bayerbach |
| Volkswagen Argentina S. A. | Argentina | Alejandro Oviedo |
| Volkswagen Automatic | ||
| Transmission (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. | China | Shiyu Yin |
| VW FAW Engine (Dalian) Co., Ltd. | China | Xingyuan Ma |
| Volkswagen de México, S.A. de C.V. | Mexico | Kevin Enríquez Reynada |
| Volkswagen do Brasil Indústria | ||
| de Veículos Automotores Ltda. | Brazil | Joao Paulo Silva Oliveira |
| Volkswagen Financial | ||
| Services AG Brunswick | Germany | Nella Holland |
| Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. | USA | Aaron English |
| Volkswagen Group Retail | Germany | Moritz Jüngst |
| Volkswagen Group Retail | Germany | Jennifer Sznober |
| Volkswagen Group Rus | Russia | Dmitrii Pokhodenko |
| Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. | India | Shwetankk Bhalaykar |
| Volkswagen Motor Polska Sp. z o.o. | Poland | Paweł Malec |
| Volkswagen Navarra, S. A. | Spain | Julen Clavería Olite |
| Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles | Germany | Christian Deister |
| Volkswagen of South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. | South Africa | Sakhile Caroline Mthombeni |
| Volkswagen Osnabrück GmbH | Germany | Florian Weinert |
| Volkswagen Poznań Sp. z o.o. | Poland | Mateusz Nadstazik |
| Volkswagen Sachsen GmbH | Germany | Kristina Marquardt |
| Volkswagen Group Services | Germany | Celina Wilhelm |
| Volkswagen Slovakia, a.s. | Slovakia | Ján Korpala |
