OREANDA-NEWS. Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, visited Bosch's training center in Vietnam today. Last year, the company became the first to introduce occupational training based on the tried-and-tested German "dual system" in Vietnam. Since then, some 50 young Vietnamese men and women have taken the first step toward their future careers by training to become industrial mechanics at Bosch. The occupational training model combines theoretical instruction at a vocational school with practical training at the company.

"The strong economic relations between Vietnam and Germany are boosting demand for an increasingly well-trained Vietnamese workforce," Gabriel said during his visit to Bosch as part of his trip to this year's Asia Pacific Conference of German Business in Vietnam. "Initiatives such as Bosch's cooperation with a local vocational school are breaking new ground in vocational training in Vietnam." Vietnam's prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung has also expressly encouraged Bosch to promote the system's further development in the country.

High demand for Bosch occupational training model in Asia

At Bosch, vocational training can look back on a long tradition. Robert Bosch set up the first occupational training department at his company in 1913. Today, the supplier of technology and services is training some 6,900 apprentices in a total of 20 countries. Nearly 2,000 of those apprentices are based outside Germany.

In Asia especially, the need for qualified skilled workers is growing at an increasingly rapid pace. "For Bosch, Asia Pacific is an important growth region. We see professional competence development both as a part of our localization strategy and as essential for our growing business in this dynamic region," said Peter Tyroller, the Bosch board of management member responsible for Asia Pacific. Over the past ten years, Bosch has more than doubled its sales in Asia Pacific to 11.1 billion euros. The company aims to double its sales in the region again by 2020. In addition to large countries such as China and India, the growth markets of Southeast Asia are set to make an increasing contribution to this development.

Along with the center in Vietnam, six other Bosch locations in Asia offer training according to the German model. In Thailand, the "dual system" was introduced in 2013. In China, Bosch opened the first of four training centers in 2007. The center of excellence for vocational training in India has been in existence since 1961 and has repeatedly been named the best in the country. In light of the increasing competition for the best people, Bosch plans to continue opening additional training centers around the world in the future.

Bosch in Vietnam

Bosch has been present in Vietnam since 1994 and opened its first branch office in Ho Chi Minh City in 2008. Since July 2014, Bosch's headquarters in Vietnam have been located in Dang Nai province. The Bosch plant in Dong Nai produces pushbelts for continuously variable transmissions. In 2010, Bosch set up its first software engineering center in southeast Asia. Located in Ho Chi Minh City, the center employs around 650 associates. In July 2014, Bosch opened an additional development center for automotive technology there. Altogether, Bosch currently employs some 2,000 associates in Vietnam.