Siemens Healthineers officially opened its new Education & Development Center (EDC) in Erlangen, Germany, yesterday, creating a space for training courses on medical devices for around 150 customers and in-house specialists daily. Constructed over the past three years with an investment of about 60 million euros, the building has 11,000 square meters of space spread over seven floors and is to be awarded the “LEED Gold” sustainability certificate.

For training purposes, there are 10 fully functional magnetic resonance imaging scanners, two angiography systems, and a photon-counting computed tomograph of the latest generation. Additionally, five of the training rooms offer space for virtual courses with cameras and state-of-the-art transmission technology available. Digital training is also supported through VR glasses or simulators. On the upper floors, there are five electrical laboratories, a technical project room, and four further training rooms.

The new EDC is one of Siemen’s three global training centers, and now the central location for German training, focusing on IT, electronics, and business administration. The company offers apprenticeships for commercial and technical professions as well as integrated degree programs in the business, IT, and technical fields.

"We want to continue to be one of the most attractive employers in the region and in Germany,” said Elisabeth Staudinger, member of the managing board of Siemens, at the official opening. “Lifelong learning for our employees is our focus. That's why we invest in high-quality training opportunities in an appealing working environment that benefit customers and employees alike. Erlangen and the region is and will remain a global hotspot for innovative medical technology.”

The company noted that its investment in in-house training is to “counteract the predicted shortage of skilled workers.” Some companies, however, say employee shortages are already underway, specifically in manufacturing, and have been for some time.

While the recent influx of highly skilled hires into manufacturing due to major tech layoffs have added a band aid to the issue, chronic labor shortages in manufacturing stem back decades and are close to a breaking point. And one of the major pain points is a lack of ongoing training opportunities for employees. Siemens seems to be tackling this challenge head-on with its ongoing efforts to continuously train employees. As for the larger industry, as previously reported by MD+DI, “Manufacturers need to publicly commit to long-term job training and paid internship opportunities to have replacements for the highly skilled workers retiring from the industry.”