Knowledge Campaign on Digitalization

Business can only remain viable in the long term if it prepares itself in good time for new professions, qualifications and working methods. In 2015, Volkswagen developed the “Good Work at Factory 4.0” concept, which it presented at an international expert conference held during the Hanover Trade Fair. At the heart of the concept is work that promotes skills and has a positive impact on employees’ health in the highly automated factories of the future. Volkswagen aims to automate an increasing number of stressful or repetitive jobs in the coming years, using in particular cooperating lightweight robots. At the same time, we intend to upgrade the remaining jobs by enhancing them with complex management and maintenance tasks. This concept is also a response to demographic change, which will limit the availability of qualified specialized labor in the coming years. To facilitate these changes, Volkswagen launched the “Knowledge Campaign on Digitalization” in May 2015. The campaign is initially aimed at employees of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Commercial Vehicles brands in Germany in order to provide them with a basic understanding of digitalization.

In the first phase, they come into contact with the subject with the aid of short films and educational quizzes in the intranet. In the second phase, they are able to attend events in the different business areas, where they experience the use of new technologies. Programs leading to vocation-specific qualifications in Volkswagen’s vocational groups are planned for the third phase. The cross-brand and international rollout of the Knowledge Campaign on Digitalization took place at the end of 2015.