Siemens Case Study - Training and development as a strategy for growth

Introduction

Siemens is a leading technology business and one of the largest electrical and electronics

engineering companies in the world. In the UK, it employs over 20,000 people and is in the

top three electrical and electronics companies in the world. It has been a pioneer in

innovation since 1843 when Siemens installed the first street light in Godalming, Surrey. In

2006, Siemens UK invested over 74.4 million on research and development.

The company designs and manufactures products and services for both industrial customers

and consumers. It operates in three main sectors which is industry, energy and healthcare. To

keep its world-leading position and grow in a competitive environment, Siemens aims to

deliver quality products and services. To do this, it needs people with first class levels of

skill, knowledge and capability in engineering, IT and business. The size and varied nature of

its business means that Siemens requires many different types of people to fill a wide range

of roles across the company. These include skilled factory workers, trade apprenticeships,

designers and managers. This case study explores how Siemens manages its ongoing need for

skills through training and development.

Identifying Training Needs

For a business to be competitive, it is important that it has the right number of people with the

right skills in the right jobs. Workforce planning enables Siemens to audit its current staff

numbers and the skills it has in place as well as identify where it has skills gaps needed to

meet its business objectives. For instance, Siemens is relocating its main plant in Lincoln to a

bigger site outside the main city. This will require new skills for the work to be done there. A

plan has been constructed to analyse which skills the company has and what training will be

needed for staff to use the new technology in the new location.

Training and Development Programmes

Training involves teaching new skills or extending the skills employees already have. There

are two forms of training (on-the-job training and off-the-job training). As well as induction

training, where new employees learn the basic information they need to begin working.

Siemens has three main development programmes (Apprenticeships, Siemens Commercial

Academy, and Siemens Graduate Programmes) designed for Entry Level Talent i.e. those

beginning their career with Siemens after education.

Siemens offer a variety of technical apprenticeships, aimed at school leavers who want to

'earn as they learn'. Apprentices can join a variety of engineering/IT apprenticeships across a

variety of locations in the UK, although the majority start their working life from their home

town working at their local Siemens site. Apprenticeship training is a combination of off-the

job college training and on-the-job work experience.

The Siemens Commercial Academy was launched in 2005 to further enhance the pipeline of

financial and commercial capability within Siemens. The programme lasts four years and is

Paul Thomson started with Siemens in July 2002 as a trainee traffic signal engineer. His mentor

ensured he acquired the skills he needed. Over three years, he received 'on the job' and educational

training. He recently became a Traffic Design Engineer. Pauls view is that: the feeling of

responsibility and trust of the company and fellow employees was amazing. The experiences I had

and the new friends I made whilst training were excellent and I would recommend it to anyone!

regarded as an alternative to going directly to university. Aimed at students who have a keen

interest in Business and Finance, the programmed enables students to rotate around various

finance and commercial placements including Accounting, HR, Procurement and Corporate

areas.

Siemens recruits graduates for Siemens Graduate Programmers into three core areas of the

business (Engineering, IT and Business Studies). All Siemens graduate recruits are treated as

individuals. They enter the business with relevant skills, knowledge and experience and the

potential to do many different roles. Each graduate has a discussion with his or her line

manager when they start, to decide on their individual training and development plan.

Siemens implemented the Siemens Graduate Development Programmed in 2005, as a means

of developing graduates with the essential skills set they need in their everyday role and to

equip them for a long-term career at Siemens. Every graduate that joins Siemens, regardless

of role or location joins the 2-year programmed. This consists of 9 modules including team

working, customer focus, project management, communication skills, and business writing.

The training is hosted at a number of Siemens sites, so graduates get exposure to different

parts of Siemens, learn about the business, and network amongst the graduate population.

Conclusion

Training and development help the growth of a business. Siemens has a clear focus on

having a well-motivated and trained workforce. The company needs to have motivated and

confident staff who have up-to-date skills in order to remain competitive. In addition, well-trained staff are an asset to the business and help to retain customers. Well-trained staff who

remain with the business mean that customers enjoy continuity. This contributes to customer

loyalty and leads to repeat business.

Adapted from: https://businesscasestudies.co.uk/training-and-development-as-a-strategyfor-growth/

Based on the above case study, answer the following questions.

QUESTION 1: Explain why Siemens need to identify needs assessment for their staff. Your

explanations should be based on Training and HRD Process Model.

QUESTION 2 : Explain how Siemens could design their training and development activities based on

Training and HRD Process Model.