Oerlikon

Philosophy

The Global Trainee Program is tailored to develop excellent graduates into key positions within Oerlikon. In a 15 months program engineers, natural scientists, and business administration graduates will get a broad overview of the company and the opportunities to design their own career. Being part of the trainee team and working on projects in various segments and locations will give you the possibility of building up a global and sustainable network. During the course of the program you are guided by the program management and a personal mentor. Thus, your personal development and your integration into the company are being supported professionally. Trainings off the job and the team project that all trainees have to manage together top off your chance to develop new competencies, skills and perspectives. This program gives you the chance to proactively contribute to challenging projects and learn more about your field of expertise and beyond. It is up to you to make the most of your career and to find out where you will fit best at the end of the program.

Getting started

The program starts annually in October. All Global Trainees will be invited to an introduction week right before the program gets started. On this occasion you will have the chance to meet the other trainees, the senior management team, the program management and your mentor. During the introduction week you will learn a lot about the Oerlikon products and technologies, visit some production sites and get a first impression of our company culture. Additionally, the team project will be kicked off and an outdoor event will bring the trainee team closer together. After the introduction week you are ready to start your career at Oerlikon with your first project assignment.

What is it all about?

Within the 15 months you will be assigned to challenging projects in different departments, segments and locations, the so called "stages". In each stage you will work on a relevant project in one of the Oerlikon Business Units for 3-6 months. The project placements will be organized in close cooperation with you and the program management. Depending on your study background, core competencies and interests on the one hand and the actual business needs on the other hand, we'll develop your individual program plan together. In each stage you have a different supervisor, a "coach" who integrates you into his team, answers your project related questions and evaluates your performance at the end of the stage.
Since Oerlikon is a global player, many projects are run internationally. To further enlarge your intercultural competencies, at least one stage should be abroad. As Oerlikon is located in over 35 countries, there are a lot of opportunities to tackle such an international project. You will have the opportunity to extend your expertise on an intercultural level and learn how a dynamic, global high-tech company really works.

Additionally, the work on your team project with the other Global Trainees is part of each stage. Both, virtually via internal meeting platforms and "live" during the trainings off the job you can exchange information and manage the team project on a global basis.