Signing of the contract for the Talent Company in Beckum

Blumenbecker sponsors Talent Company in Beckum Cooperation agreement with the Strahlemann Foundation

On 10 January 2022, the cooperation agreement for the Strahlemann Foundation's Talent Company project was signed. The location at the secondary school in Beckum is now the eighth Talent Company in North Rhine-Westphalia and the first with Blumenbecker as a sponsor.

After graduation there's still no connection to working life. Many young people have to face this challenge. The Corona pandemic has made the situation even worse, as important education fairs, company visits and internships at schools have not been able to take place. Especially in a fast-moving professional world like today's with new job profiles, there is a need for early and practice-oriented career orientation during school time.

Professional room for career orientation

To promote this process, the Strahlemann Foundation from Heppenheim/South Hesse, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year (initially as an association and since 2008 as a foundation), is setting up professional rooms for career orientation at German schools.
In the Talent Company project the previous career orientation measures are physically anchored, but also expanded through synergetic networking with regional training companies. The Strahlemann Foundation is contributing its knowledge from 54 already opened professional rooms to the project.

School Principal Godehard Stein comments: "Today more than ever the choice of a career perspective is very important for all young people. The establishment of a Talent Company at our school is an excellent addition to our excellent career choice concept. There we will bring young adults together with the people who can provide quality training and long-term employment prospects in our city and our region. We look forward to being part of the Strahlemann family!"

On the occasion of the company's 100th anniversary, the Blumenbecker Group is sponsoring the project, which is a matter close to Astrid Blumenbecker's heart: "We are delighted to have found a strong partner in the Strahlemann Foundation to promote young people at the headquarters of our family-owned company and to actively support them in their career orientation. The training of young people has always been particularly important to my father, so we have found a great opportunity here to continue this tradition of our company."

The cooperating companies will also be visibly represented on the so-called Job Wall, where training opportunities will be permanently displayed. "In addition, there will be workshops and information events with regional training companies in the Talent Company to provide targeted, practical insights into the professional world "at first hand"," reports Andreas Hofer, Project Manager Talent Company of the Strahlemann Foundation. The specialist room will also contain internet-enabled PCs, presentation technology as well as a work area and a modern seating lounge.

Platform for businesses in Beckum

The city of Beckum supports the project as a school board. Mayor Michael Gerdhenrich sees the project as a "classic win-win situation" for pupils and companies: "The young people can now take advantage of an additional educational offer that is optimally tailored to their needs, which integrates the world of work into everyday school life at an early stage and hence facilitates the transition from school to work. At the same time, in these days of a skills shortage, the Talent Company offers Beckum's businesses an important platform to present themselves and get in touch with potential trainees."

Hans Hund, President of the Münster Chamber of Crafts, is the patron and is enthusiastic about the advantages of the new professional room: "In general, but also especially for future topics such as climate protection through the energy transition and digitalisation, more skilled workers are needed in the skilled crafts sector. The pandemic has made it more difficult for companies to get in touch with young people to recruit new talent. In the Talent Company, pupils are introduced to the possibilities of vocational training in a varied and practical way - directly on site, at school."

Caption

from left: Matthias Fleischhut (Head of Human Resources, B+M Blumenbecker GmbH), Astrid Blumenbecker, Olaf Lingnau (Managing Director B+M Blumenbecker GmbH), Andreas Hofer (Strahlemann Foundation), Hans Hund (President of the Chamber of Crafts Münster), Michael Gerdheinrich (Mayor City of Beckum), Richard Mayer (Managing Director B+M Blumenbecker GmbH), Cornelia Baumann (Head of Department City of Beckum) and Godehard Stein (School Principal Secondary School Beckum).