SchulePlus brings pupils and companies together

Jan 19, 2024

The long-established Haiger-based company Klingspor has been a cooperation partner of SchulePlus since the project started in 2022. As part of this innovative concept, Alexander Schüler, project manager and teacher at Johann-Textor-Schule in Haiger, wants to give pupils an insight into working life. The highlight: if the cooperation between the company and the pupils is right, the pupils can look forward to an apprenticeship at the end of the programme.

Klingspor is a cooparation partner of the first hour

Added value for pupils, schools and companies

In order to counteract the shortage of skilled labour, the idea arose to offer school pupils the opportunity to get to know various training occupations and work in the company one day a week. The special thing about it: Participation in SchulePlus is voluntary and if the cooperation between pupils and the company is right, an apprenticeship is guaranteed.
The international abrasives manufacturer Klingspor, with 550 employees at its headquarters in Haiger, Hessen, has been involved in the project from the very beginning and has since benefited from the concept, which is unrivalled in Germany: "Participation in SchulePlus is a real added value for our company, for the pupils and for the school, and we welcome being able to fill apprenticeship positions in this way. For the future, we can imagine offering more places in other apprenticeships and also enabling students to work in commercial areas or in the laboratory," says Klaus Gaumann, Head of Human Resources.

Three pupils from the Haiger comprehensive school are currently working in the company's own training workshop once a week. They can test their own skills among the other trainees and gain an insight into their future careers. Collin Grosch and Fabian Brandt have already secured an apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic at Klingspor, while the third of them, Paul Reuter, joined the company in December 2023 to familiarise himself with the profession of mechatronics technician.

SchulePlus: A real Haiger success story

Participation is voluntary for the interested pupils and the work in the companies takes place in the afternoons. This ensures that no lessons are cancelled or the regular timetable is reduced. By participating, the young people get to know the company, the trainees, learning workshops and requirements and thus lose their fear of the world of work. The first round in the 2021/22 school year already achieved high placement rates and attracted a lot of attention. Within two years, SchulePlus has developed into a real lighthouse project that now involves 130 pupils and 60 regional training companies.

TV- und radio stations report

Due to the enormous success of the programme, the list of radio and TV stations reporting on SchulePlus is impressive. In mid-January, the regional editorial team from RTL visited Kling-spor in Haiger and accompanied the three pupils in the company's training workshop. Pupil Collin gave a brief insight into what he had already learnt on the machine in front of the cam-era and carried out a few typical trainee tasks under the guidance of training manager Sascha Kersting.

From Haiger to Berlin

SchulePlus has also won an award in November 2023. A small delegation from Haiger had the honour of accepting the "SchuleWirtschaft" award in the "Cooperation between schools and companies" category in Berlin.