A place for technical expertise, innovation and creativity

OGE's Future Workshop offers new opportunities for technical training

Young people are idea generators and shapers of the future. Gas network operator Open Grid Europe GmbH (OGE) sees their training as a great opportunity and wants to offer the best possible opportunities to young talent. To this end, OGE has been making investments and has completely renovated its existing training centre. OGE's CFO Nathalie Leroy and Essen's Mayor Thomas Kufen officially opened the new Future Workshop in the presence of numerous guests.  

With its Future Workshop, OGE is breaking new ground in optimising in-house training, which has a long tradition at the Essen-based gas network operator. "As a company, we are constantly evolving and tackling the challenges of our time. With our Future Workshop, we are offering our junior employees a place where they can not only acquire specialist knowledge, but also develop creativity, drive innovation and overcome boundaries," explains CFO Nathalie Leroy. On an area of 1,000m², apprentices in the professions of industrial mechanic (with or without a parallel degree course), mechatronics technician and electronics technician for industrial engineering as well as prospective chemical laboratory technicians now have access not only to modern machines that meet the latest standards, but also to a bright, friendly learning environment and their own creative and innovation space. The Future Workshop offers a high degree of flexibility and has deliberately been designed as an open space. All training professions have their own area, but are spatially organised on one level. This encourages interdisciplinary knowledge sharing and strengthens team spirit.  

The guests attending the opening ceremony at the OGE site in Altenessen had a chance to gain a first impression. In addition to guided tours of the Future Workshop and the opportunity to talk to OGE workers on site, the guests had the opportunity to give a number of technical trades a try for themselves and find out a little more about the apprenticeships at OGE. The Mayor of Essen, Thomas Kufen, was impressed by the Future Workshop, particularly by the modern and hands-on opportunities for sustainable skilled labour training, and praised OGE. 

"OGE is one of the most important and innovative companies in our city and has been making a significant contribution to the economic stability and further development of the entire region for many years," he said. "The opening of this new Future Workshop is another strong signal for our city and symbolises a wide range of future opportunities, OGE's sense of responsibility and its regional ties."

The guests attending the opening ceremony at the OGE site in Altenessen had a chance to gain a first impression. In addition to guided tours of the Future Workshop and the opportunity to talk to OGE workers on site, the guests had the opportunity to give a number of technical trades a try for themselves and find out a little more about the apprenticeships at OGE. The Mayor of Essen, Thomas Kufen, was impressed by the Future Workshop, particularly by the modern and hands-on opportunities for sustainable skilled labour training, and praised OGE. "OGE is one of the most important and innovative companies in our city and has been making a significant contribution to the economic stability and further development of the entire region for many years," he said. 

"The opening of this new Future Workshop is another strong signal for our city and symbolises a wide range of future opportunities, OGE's sense of responsibility and its regional ties."

The company trains around 20 technical apprentices per year at its Essen sites. Jonas Fauser, Head of Technical Training at OGE, is looking forward to the new opportunities to further improve technical training and make it even more attractive. "The term Future Workshop basically says what this place is about: customising technical training to meet the challenges ahead together with junior staff, in a way that's flexible, innovative and creative," said Jonas Fauser. He is not alone in this opinion. The current apprentices are also looking forward to learning their future trades at the Future Workshop.