A total of 85 years of Roto training in Leinfelden-Echterdingen

The company’s aim is to make processes in the value chain streamlined, close to the customer and sustainable, in order to continuously improve customer benefits. Training within the company is a “critical basis for this”, as emphasised by Site HR Manager Sophie Urban. “Many of our staff and managers have been familiar with our internal processes since back when they received training at our company. However, they have been experiencing each new technical and organisational stage of development with us and therefore continuously build on the skills they need for their daily work in the company. This ensures long-term quality in all areas and paves the way to success for our customers and for us.”

Contemporary training standard

The world-leading manufacturer of Tilt&Turn window hardware has been training industrial mechanics since back in 1964. Including this year’s cohort, the company has trained a total of 215 since then. The window and door technology specialist has retained conventional metalworking as the basis of the technical training. However, Roto has been extending the range of subjects covered by its training and now shares specific knowledge in electronics and mechatronics. Markus Schwarz, Head of Technical Training, explains: “Increasing automation in production and the use of automatic assembly machines, robots and driverless transport systems mean that, for us, there is no alternative to this training path.” Schwarz has first-hand experience of this training, as he joined the company in 1986 as a trainee toolmaker and has been in charge of technical training since 2011.

Further proof of the quality of the technical training is that Roto has been appointed as an examination centre for the skilled trade of an industrial mechanic. This means that the trainees take the examination directly at the production plant in Leinfelden in the presence of a Chamber of Industry and Commerce examination board. External candidates from other companies without their own training workshop can also practice and complete their examination there.

Commercial training was set up in 1999, under the leadership of Erika-Dittmann Frank at that time. To date, 174 young people have completed commercial training or a dual study programme at the Roto site in Leinfelden. Beatrix Kraft has been responsible for training since 2022. Kraft began her career by training to be an industrial business management assistant at Roto. She is proof of how Roto creates career prospects that are perfectly tailored to its trainees. “One of my goals is to work with Ms Urban and Mr Schwarz to promote career prospects for our trainees and students at our company.”

Industrial business management assistants and business management assistants for digitalisation management, office management, e-commerce and IT specialists for system integration are trained according to the needs of the company. In cooperation with the Cooperative State University (DHBW) Stuttgart, Roto offers trainees the opportunity to complete a dual study programme as a Bachelor of Arts in the subjects of industrial business administration or international business management, Bachelor of Engineering in mechanical engineering or industrial engineering with business studies, or Bachelor of Science in business information systems.

Varied prospects for the future

Site HR Manager Sophie Urban describes the challenge for the construction supplier: especially in the Stuttgart region, Roto is involved in “fierce competition for the best up-and-coming talent.” This comes as no surprise, as other internationally leading industrial companies are based here. This is why, quite a few years ago, the manufacturer set up learning partnerships with regional secondary schools and also works in close collaboration with universities in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

The good to excellent results consistently achieved by the trainees in their examinations are also testament to the high quality of the training. Roto is often at the top of the rankings when compared with its competitors around the country. Roto also sees this as an “endorsement of the training concept, which has been expanded and diversified over the decades.”

Urban summarises the company’s training philosophy: “With our training concept, which is diverse and consistently tailored to our business practices, we train our apprentices and students on dual study programmes intensively from the very first day and prepare them in the best possible way for a career at Roto once they complete their training.” And they don’t necessarily have to get started in Leinfelden. A total of 18 global production plants and more than 30 sales companies offer options for an international career. This makes Roto the “perfect match” for up-and-coming talent who want to experience a practice-based, international and forward-looking environment from the very start.

If you want more information on training and studying at Roto Window and Door Technology, visit the careers website at: ftt.roto-frank.com/int-en/careers.