Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 110

B | COMBINED MANAGEMENT REPORT | SUSTAINABILITY 117
Employee qualification
We provide our staff with training and continuing education
opportunities throughout their entire careers. Our range
of qualification measures includes practical training courses,
seminars, workshops, specialist conferences and instruction
through digital media. In Germany alone, we spent €126 million
on the training and qualification of our employees in the year
under review (2014: €121 million). On average, every employee
spent four days on qualification courses in 2015 (2014: four
days).
Measures for lifelong learning, such as the Daimler Academic
Programs for active employees, enable us to enhance the
qualifications of our employees and improve their performance
and innovative capability throughout their entire careers.
Assistance for refugees
Daimler believes it has a responsibility to help with efforts to
assist refugees. In order to support the professional integration
of refugees into the German labor market, Daimler is offering
14-week “bridge internships” for several hundred refugees in
the coming years. After a successful pilot phase with 40
“bridge interns,” the project will be expanded to the number of
300 additional places within the first half of 2016. The 14-week
“bridge internships” are being carried out in close cooperation
with the Federal Employment Agency and local job centers in
Germany. The latter organizations are also responsible for
selecting those refugees who have the best chance of being
granted residency. The internships include alternating days of
German language instruction and production work. A total
of 50 additional trainee positions for refugees are also being
offered at various Group locations in Germany in the coming
years. For information on other assistance activities:
E p ag e 119.
Social responsibility
Responsible business activity
Our global presence offers us the opportunity to help shape the
social environment and promote an intercultural dialogue in
the places where we do business around the world. We and our
employees participate together in many charitable projects
that help address major challenges in society.
We concentrate here on areas where we can have an impact
through our role as a “good neighbor.” We also participate in
projects to which we can contribute our specific knowledge
and core areas of expertise as an automobile manufacturer.
Our activities focus on the following areas: support for science,
education, traffic safety, the environment, the arts and culture,
community projects, charitable projects, projects for which our
employees volunteer, and projects for promoting dialogue
and understanding.
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B.44
In 2015, we spent around €60 million on donations to nonprofit
institutions and on sponsorships of socially beneficial projects.
This does not include our foundations, corporate volunteering
activities or self-initiated projects.
Slight increase in average age of our employees
The average age of our global workforce in 2015 was 42.5
years (2014: 42.4). Our employees in Germany were 44.0 years
old on average (2014: 43.8). Employees who are 50 years old
or older currently make up about 37% of our permanent work-
force at Daimler AG. On the basis of current assumptions,
this proportion will rise to about 50% over the next eight years.
Basic agreement on generation management
In the fall of 2015, executive management and the General Works
Council signed a basic agreement on generation management
at the Group. The components of the agreement form the frame-
work of Daimler’s strategy for addressing the demographic
transformation. The main aspects here include health, work
arrangements, leadership, learning and human resources
development. The associated measures are designed to help
maintain the health and performance capabilities of both
young and old employees, while promoting cooperation across
all age groups. Examples include extensive health programs
and measures to ensure ergonomic workstations.
The Daimler Senior Experts program allows experienced retired
employees to return to the company for a temporary period.
Around 300 senior experts have participated in the program
since it was launched, with most of them helping out in pro-
duction, development and IT departments. More than 600
interested former Daimler employees have set up senior
expert profiles that list their areas of expertise and experience.
Securing young talent
Daimler takes a holistic approach to securing young talent. For
example, for five years now, our Genius initiative has been
enabling children and teenagers to gain valuable information
about technologies of the future and professions in the auto-
motive industry. E p ag e 118 School leavers can apply to par-
ticipate in a technical or commercial apprenticeship at one
of our locations or to study at the Cooperative State University
of Baden-Württemberg. After completing their college degrees,
they can directly join our company or launch their careers at
Daimler by taking part in our global CAReer training program.
We had 8,307 apprentices and trainees worldwide at the end
of 2015 (2014: 8,346). A total of 1,871 young people began
their vocational training at Daimler in Germany during the year
under review (2014: 1,990). The number of people we train
and subsequently hire is based solely on the Group’s needs and
its future development. In 2015, 84% of Daimler trainees
were hired after completing their apprenticeships (2014: 89%).