Disadvantaged People
The integration of severely handicapped people into society is part of our social responsibility
Siemens has actively supported handicapped persons for many years already, as employers and providers of vocational training programs, as suppliers and initiators of innovative products and as partners to institutions devoted to the cause of integrating handicapped people into society.
A fair chance for all
At Siemens, handicapped people are integrated into the work world. Siemens’ voluntary efforts in this respect go far beyond the legal requirements. In Germany alone, Siemens employs 6,700 handicapped persons, representing 3.9 percent of the company’s workforce. Siemens is well ahead of other companies in this respect.
By providing occupational training to handicapped people we increase their job abilities and job placement rate.
But we are not satisfied with the percentage of our employees who are handicapped. Our goal is to promote the integration of these people on all levels of the company and in all our operating processes. We consider it to be our social responsibility to provide work to severely handicapped persons. Furthermore, Siemens grants its severely handicapped employees in Germany extra benefits to compensate for their disadvantages, that go beyond the legal requirements.
We have initiated many projects already to advance the integration of handicapped persons. Our work in this respect is focused on the goals of enabling handicapped and severely handicapped persons to participate in every type of work with equal opportunity, to offer them promising careers in highly qualified positions and to enlarge our offering of teleworking jobs.
Helping handicapped persons help themselves through occupational training
Thorough occupational training is essential to the goal of integrating handicapped persons into the work world on a lasting basis and to make them fit for positions that require higher qualifications. Therefore, we consider it very important to provide occupational training to handicapped and severely handicapped young people. In Germany, we have developed a comprehensive approach to this issue, covering the entire process from the assignment of an occupational training position to the conclusion of the occupational training program. In filling our occupational training positions, moreover, we take care to set aside an appropriate percentage for severely handicapped persons. As a rule, Siemens offers permanent employment positions to severely handicapped apprentice-trainees when they complete their occupational training.
The goal of our qualifications-building measures is to optimize the quality of occupational training by offering additional technical and operational training and to increase the occupational abilities and the job placement rate of such people. We also seek to apply our project experience in the area of occupational training to cooperative arrangements with other companies or government agencies.
Achieving more through cooperation
We cooperate with other companies and organizations on many projects and also participate in government programs and initiatives involving the occupational training of handicapped young people. As an example, Siemens participates in the initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs known as “Jobs Without Barriers,” to improve the occupational opportunities of handicapped persons. The slogan of this initiative is “occupational training is the best integration.” In this regard, we are conducting various programs at the initiative of the central representative council for the severely handicapped employees of Siemens. The introduction of a corporate integration management program is meant to protect the occupational opportunities of these employees.
Siemens participates in an initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to improve the occupational opportunities of handicapped persons.
In collaboration with the Federation of German Trade Unions (DGB), we have launched a pilot project in Paderborn, under which 20 occupational training positions for the career path of industrial clerk have been created for handicapped high-school graduates.
Other projects:
- In cooperation with occupational training institutes, we offer training courses in the areas of pneumatics, thermal joining and conventional lathing to 32 handicapped persons in Munich.
- In cooperation with the Mittelfranken occupational training institute, we offer a ten-month occupational training program for 12 persons in the Erlangen/Nuremberg area.
- Also in Erlangen/Nuremberg, we are conducting an exchange program for apprentice-trainees in cooperation with the Rummelsberg occupational training institute.
Work places without barriers
An important prerequisite for the integration of handicapped persons into the work world is the absence of barriers at the work place. The Siemens Access Initiative (SAI) has been working in this area for almost ten years now. For more on this subject, read the interview with the head of this initiative, Klaus-Peter Wegge.