Human resources marketing and recruiting
Fresenius Medical Care gives students the opportunity to gain practical experience in various areas of the Company: We offer internships, research, project and graduate programs, and work closely with higher education institutions so that talented young people can get to know us as an attractive employer early on. One example is our cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (FHWS). As this college offers students a very good education in the fields of business engineering, plastics technology, mechanical engineering, engineering IT and especially electrical engineering with a focus on medical and automation technology, many of its students and graduates are interesting as future employees for our Schweinfurt facility in particular, where we develop and manufacture dialysis machines. As a result, in 2009 we entered into an agreement with FHWS covering student excursions to our Schweinfurt plant as well as semester-long projects in various divisions of our Company.
To enable Fresenius Medical Care to retain promising young employees, we train students together with FHWS in a work-study course in electrical engineering and in a course with in-depth practical training. As part of the latter, highly motivated and talented students work for several months in internships in the Schweinfurt facility or at Fresenius Medical Care’s international locations. The question of how to adapt academic training in engineering and technical development to practical applications and future needs was a focus at the first Network Day, held in 2010 jointly by FHWS and Fresenius Medical Care in Schweinfurt: Under the motto “Building bridges − capturing synergies”, more than 20 FHWS professors from technical faculties met with Fresenius Medical Care executives to intensify their cooperation and exchange views.
Our trainee program and Graduate Development Program also present attractive opportunities. Both enable highly-qualified university graduates to start on a project-based, specialist or management career in the Company. The 18-month trainee program prepares entry-level employees for a profession in a particular area, such as controlling or marketing, with internships lasting several months, one of which is generally abroad, as well as additional learning modules. The Graduate Development Program, in contrast, prepares young professionals over a period of up to twelve months for a career in a specific function in the Company, in Germany or abroad. Both programs include participation in seminars and workshops of the Fresenius Group with a focus on enhancing students’ social and communication skills.
We also introduce our Company to young researchers beyond classic recruiting activities by cooperating with international institutions of higher learning in the area of research and development or supporting young scientists through doctoral scholarships, for example.