The Confidence Builder

Key points at a glance

• Start with the basics: FUCHS LUBRICANTS GERMANY has redesigned its training programme. The first year now includes intensive support in core skills such as mathematics and physics.
• Support makes a difference: Small learning groups, regular feedback and easy access to trainers help apprentices overcome difficulties early.
• Training for long-term skills: The company is investing more in trainers and tutoring because it trains apprentices to meet its own future workforce needs. 

At first, there was uncertainty

Kristina Eckert still remembers the feeling clearly. As a teenager, uncertainty seemed to hang over everything like fog: which direction should her life take? “I did a lot of internships,” she says. “But nothing really fulfilled me.” An office job? Too boring. Working as a veterinary assistant? Too demanding.

Again and again, she leafed through a thick book from the Federal Employment Agency, 1,000 Careers, marking numerous options with sticky notes.

The moment that changed everything

Then came that one day. A chemical plant operator from BASF spoke to her school class about his work. For Eckert, it was like someone switching on a light.

Twenty-two years later, she opens the door to the FUCHS LUBRICANTS GERMANY training workshop in Mannheim for the Wir.Hier. team. Apprentices lean over their workpieces at the benches, fully focused. Eckert walks among them, checking the fittings they are producing.

She completed her own apprenticeship as a chemical plant operator at FUCHS LUBRICANTS GERMANY, later qualified as an industrial foreman and is now a trainer herself. Today, she coordinates vocational training at all of the company’s sites.

A place where careers begin

A total of 26 apprentices started their careers at the FUCHS Group in the 2025/2026 training year. Apprentices from Kaiserslautern spend eleven weeks a year at the company´s headquarters and a further twelve weeks at the vocational school in Mannheim.

One of them is 26-year-old Anil Bahadir. “I first studied mechanical engineering and then worked in retail,” he says. Now he is standing at a workbench, with his hands firmly gripping a fitting.

The new reality of vocational training

For Kristina Eckert, vocational training is a task that has become much more challenging in recent years. “The number of applications is falling,” she says. But there is an even bigger issue: “Many young people are not as ready for training as they used to be.”

Not because they are less capable. They often lack basic skills: social etiquette, basic mathematics and the ability to deal with conflict. At the same time, anxiety and depression are becoming more common. Eckert believes that the pandemic may have played a role.

Three months to build a foundation

This means that apprentices begin with intensive basic training, including mathematics and physics. More generally, Eckert relies on small learning groups, close support and careful observation. “I speak to apprentices right away when I notice that they are struggling to keep up,” she says. Being constantly available to young people is a matter of course for her.

The company has also responded by increasing the number of trainers to five, with more to follow. Once a week, a vocational school teacher comes to the company to provide extra tutoring, paid for by the company.

From a business perspective, this is a major investment. “Our costs are much higher than they used to be, but they are worth every cent.” FUCHS LUBRICANTS GERMANY trains apprentices to meet its own needs. The people learning here will be needed in the company.

What young people are really looking for

Eckert enjoys being challenged. Perhaps that is why she thrives in this role. “I need new tasks, otherwise I get bored quickly,” she says, laughing.

Her most important lesson? Teaching discipline, monitoring progress, correcting mistakes and staying focused all matter. But they must always be done with respect. “It is extremely important to show interest and to be there for young people.”

That appears to be exactly what apprentices consider crucial when choosing an employer. Anil Bahadir says: “It was important to me that the company was interested in me and offered support when you have problems.” Andreas Kreker, 19, also from Kaiserslautern, says: “I wanted to receive good training. For me, that means being well prepared for exams, for example.”

They get both at FUCHS LUBRICANTS GERMANY. This is part of a vocational training programme that is much more than learning an occupation. It is supported preparation for a working life with prospects – one in which obstacles do not put people off, but help them grow.