The best apprentices in 2022 at the Audi locations in Ingolstadt, Neckarsulm, Brussels, Győr, and San José Chiapa, as well as at its subsidiary brands Ducati in Bologna and Lamborghini in Sant’Agata Bolognese, have reason to be proud: All seven are among the winners of the “Best Apprentice Award,” which the Volkswagen Group presents each year to 50 outstanding training program finishers.
“These young talents are the future of our strong brand and our strong products,” said Member of the Board of Management for Human Resources and Organization at Audi Xavier Ros at the ceremony of the Volkswagen Group’s 2022 Best Apprentice Award. “During a time when there is a scarcity of skilled workers, developing and rewarding trainees is more important than ever. I am delighted that these young people are making the most of this great opportunity and demonstrating through their outstanding performance that training with Audi offers the most exciting career prospects in the world.”
Chairman of the General Works Council at AUDI AG Peter Mosch adds: “The demands on our next generation are constantly growing and so the level our training programs is equally high. That’s why the Works Councils view dual training as an obligation we have to society as well as to young people and their professional futures.”
“Best Apprentices” at seven Audi Group locations
The annual Best Apprentice Award is a tribute to the entire Group. The 50 best apprentices, who all completed training programs in the Volkswagen Group, received the award this year. This includes a total of seven program finishers from Audi Group’s German locations and sites in Belgium, Hungary, and Mexico as well as at its Italian subsidiaries.
At the Neckarsulm site, the Best Apprentice Award went to Leon Wolf, who trained as a materials tester in the field of metal technology. Additionally, the Heilbronn-Franken Chamber of Industry and Commerce named this Audi employee the Chamber and state winner in his field. “To me, the whole training program was a highlight,” Wolf says. “Audi Neckarsulm is the home of Audi Sport. Whenever you walk through the site, you see our most beautiful performance models.” That’s where Wolf sees his ideal workplace – since completing his training, Wolf has been working in the bodyshop at Böllinger Höfe, where the Audi e-tron GT and the Audi R8, among others, are built.
In Ingolstadt, the winner of the Best Apprentice Award is Pascal Stirner. At the top of his training program, Stirner also excelled at vocational school – and passed the exam to become a warehouse logistics specialist with a perfect final grade. But that didn’t satisfy Stirner, who has now begun advanced training to become an industrial business administrator. He plans to complete the program with a Bachelor’s degree in 2024. “To me, Audi has always been the undisputed number one in the automotive industry,” Stirner says, which is why he reports he will remain loyal to the brand. “I would like to deepen my knowledge in the field of logistics, both in practice and in theory. And I’m very much looking forward to mastering new challenges in the emerging field of e-mobility.”
The winner of the Best Apprentice Award at Audi Hungaria in Győr is Alexandra Rácz. She passed her final exam in Hungary with top marks in the dual training program for office management assistants, making her highly qualified for her current assignment as HR Business Partner in the Central Functions/Global Assignments division. “My training enabled me to concentrate on my favorite topics: human resources and finance,” Rácz explains. “And here at Audi I also discovered my third favorite topic, besides people and numbers and data: nice cars.”
This latter passion is also shared by Ruben Pelepcu, who completed his training as an electronics technician for automation technology at Audi Brussels this summer. He is enthusiastic about the working atmosphere and the learning support he received there. “To me, Audi is like a big family,” Pelepcu says. “What I like most is the relationship between all my colleagues and the ability to work with different technologies.” His training has familiarized him with the basics of robotics and automation technology, among other things. At his workplace in the Audi Brussels paint shop, Pelepcu is now putting this learning into practice.
At the top of this year’s dual training program for industrial mechanics for production, Miguel Angel Carillo Ruiz received the Best Apprentice Award at Audi México in San José Chiapa. He achieved one of the best exam results seen at his location in recent years. Now he works in door production for the Audi Q5, besides pursuing a number of advanced qualifications, not least in terms of language. Carillo Ruiz has already completed eleven semesters of English at the Volkswagen Language School in Mexico; he plans to start studying German soon. Carrilo Ruiz stated, “I would like to help change and advance the way we work. And I would very, very much like to work in Germany one day.”
Finally, Best Apprentice Awards were also awarded to employees at Audi’s subsidiaries in Italy. At Lamborghini in Sant’Agata Bolognese, the award went to Francesco Fogliari, who completed his training as a construction mechanic with flying colors. After completing his dual training, he now works as a line operator for the assembly of the Lamborghini Urus. Having studied all the production stages the vehicle goes through, Fogliari has developed a high level of expertise. Several of his ideas for production optimization in assembly have already been implemented. “I’m pleased that even as a trainee at the company, I was given the opportunity to share my ideas and see them put into action,” reports Fogliari.
Finally, at the Group’s second location in Italy, motorcycle manufacturer Ducati, the winner of the Best Apprentice Award went to Sohofi Abdo Errahman. Errahman completed his dual training as a mechatronics technician at Ducati and at the Belluzzi-Fioravanti College with a score of 9.8 out of a possible 10. He is valued by his colleagues above all for his outstanding team spirit and his resourcefulness in solving problems. “I chose to train with Ducati”, Errahman says, “because their motorcycles have such a stellar reputation. I believe my choice will only help me on my future career path. Ducati on your resume – that’s sure to impress everyone!”
Audi spirit across borders
“I am proud of the award.” “Always giving my best paid off.” “I’m deeply honored by the award.” Statements like these are echoed by all seven Best Apprentice Award winners, all of whom confirm that they view their training with the Audi Group as a door-opener for their careers, whether at Audi itself or at other brands in the Volkswagen family. To them, the international network that Audi offers finishers of its training programs in all professions and fields is a great opportunity. This demonstrates the cosmopolitanism of the brand with the four rings as it lives out the Audi spirit across borders.