Digital life in times of corona : home learning for Audi apprentices

Next-generation Audi employees are learning on the move: For about four weeks now, the approximately 2,400 Audi apprentices in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm have been learning at home due to the corona virus. In this way, the Audi Academy is preventing large groups from coming together at the training centers in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm. Both trainers and trainees have very positive experience with digital learning (see statements). “Digital teaching methods have been used in training at Audi for several years – and this is now paying off in the corona crisis,” said Christoph Hermreck, who is responsible for the coordination of vocational training at the Four Rings. He added: “At Audi, we are currently experiencing a real push in terms of digital learning.” For the start of training in September 2019, the company launched a new learning platform that guarantees access to learning content at all sites. Trainers and apprentices in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm can use their personalized online access to share and work on content, knowledge and tasks on company tablets or computers.

Further opinions and statements on home learning from people at Audi:

• Thomas Seemann, car mechatronics trainer, Audi Ingolstadt: “We are all learning an enormous amount just now – both trainers and trainees – and we are doing so every day. The apprentices are making enormous progress in terms of self-organization.”
• Maximilian Resch,chairman of overall youth and trainee representation at Audi:“As we already rely heavily on mobile learning content in many areas of training, we have been able to react quickly to the exceptional situation and, together with the training management, have found a good solution for the training system. We are in close contact with the apprentices and trainers and are getting thoroughly positive feedback.”
• Hayrettin Topcu, second-year car mechatronics apprentice: “I do miss working directly on a car a bit, but this way of learning is kind of cool otherwise. I’m glad that our training is continuing like this.”