Professor Dr. Gunther Olesch
is one of the most prominent
representatives of Phoenix Contact
Incidentally, this is not just the case for academic careers,
but also for skilled workers. I would like to see a 50: 50
distribution between genders.
Today, 82 to 84 percent of all applicants decide to make
an application, among other reasons, because they obtain
information from the job evaluation portal Kununu, for
example. This figure includes apprentices and skilled workers,
not just academics. And we are simply perceived by the outside
world as an attractive employer. This is how we are securing
the attention of our potential young talent.
è How are our employees structured, especially our
future employees?
In terms of gender, I still see a big challenge, and this has been
the case for more than 20 years. No one is forbidding women
from taking up engineering professions, but despite all our
efforts, the proportion of women in engineering professions
is just five percent. In medical professions, for example, the
picture is completely different, with more than 75 percent of
all students being female.
This is a situation that only exists in Germany. I also teach
international students at the university. In the case of Indians,
Pakistanis, and the Chinese, the sexes are represented
approximately equally. Here in Germany, we still have to do
a great deal of persuading in the technical professions. We
are trying to garner interest early on, at school level. At first,
the female pupils are quite taken with the idea. But later, they
decide to become medical assistants or hairdressers or go into
the commercial sector. Around 10 years ago, 18 percent of
people working in technical professions were women, but this
has been declining again for some years now.
And this is despite the fact that technically trained staff
have a much better future. Commercial fields are constantly
being streamlined by software, with the PC taking over more
and more of the work. But, of course, we cannot force anyone
to work for us.
è Young talent at Phoenix Contact – which trainees are
“the best”, and which ones are you wary of?
I love those new employees who tell me that their training was
merely the entrance ticket to the theater performance that is
the professional world. That they want to create something
new, like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk or Bill Gates. Those who set
themselves a vision for their own life, and go on to pursue it.
Those who say they just want to do their job, otherwise they
want to be left alone – they are the ones I am wary of.
è Are we taking skilled workers away from the trades?
How does Phoenix Contact get along with the trade
companies around us that provide training?
I am also the vice president of the Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, so I have to deal with this issue all the time. I have to
say that a large number of skilled workers are responsible for
this themselves to a large extent. Anyone who needs skilled
workers must also be prepared to train them.
è But isn’t craftsmanship considered the training
machine of small to medium-sized enterprises?
It used to be. That has not been the case for a long time. If
it was said here in East Westphalia that there was a lack of
training places, then in recent years this was often in the craft
trade sector. We have always trained very intensively, with up
to 400 apprentices and trainees at the same time. If the craft
trade sector lacks skilled workers, it is often because they have
not recruited the next generation themselves.
Let’s not kid ourselves: It is not money or working hours
that always have to be used as an argument when it comes to
competing for talent. Those who are satisfied in the craft trade
will stay there. But if they are not happy, they leave. Many
start in a company because of the money and stay or leave
because of their supervisor.
Across Germany, the turnover in staff is around 11 percent.
The turnover here is a mere one percent. There is a great deal
more to this than just making a quick buck. Above all else, it
is because of our corporate culture. If your heart lies with a
company, you don’t leave. (lo) •
The Phoenix Contact innovation magazine UPDATE 5/20 39