20. December 2024 | Press releases:

‘ReShape’: From the big picture to implementation Success factors for successful transformation

The entire automotive industry and its suppliers are facing a major transformation. Alternative drive systems and digitalisation are changing job profiles and areas of activity in the automotive industry, in some cases massively. In order to enable companies and employees to keep pace with the digital transformation and other transformation processes, the training network ‘(Re)Shape Automotive Industry: Upskilling and Reskilling’ has developed an organisational model that provides a ‘big picture’. It is designed to provide guidance to companies in the automotive and supplier industries and to help them manage the transformation process. Key success factors include fostering employee motivation and willingness to change.

With at least 350,000 jobs directly related to the automotive industry in Niedersachsen, no other federal state is as affected by the transformation process as Niedersachsen. “There have always been changes in the automotive industry, but never as far-reaching as now. Many companies are under enormous pressure to transform, which is also having a huge impact on employment,” explains project manager Professor Simone Kauffeld, Head of the Department of Work, Organisational and Social Psychology at TU Braunschweig.

With this in mind, the association has developed a comprehensive vision of the future of work in the automotive industry. This big picture should make it possible to look at the transformation process as a whole and to identify new career paths and development opportunities for employees. This includes the development of skills profiles that can be used to cover current and future skills in the automotive value chain and to identify training needs.

Successful transformation through internal training: simulation game, TechTalks and TechTruck

During the three-year project period of the ReShape training network, a number of innovative, tailor-made and sustainable training formats were developed to provide employees with access to upskilling.

  • Among other things, a simulation game was designed on the basis of the competence profiles developed together with the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences under Professor Marcus Seiffert. The game gives employees the opportunity to repair an electric motor in a playful environment and to reflect on and develop their own skills.
  • The video format ‘TechTalks – Skills from the Region’ was designed to promote networking and exchange between the automotive and supplier industries throughout Niedersachsen, where companies can present their own innovative transformation solutions and topics. A dedicated channel on the online platform YouTube was set up for this purpose, providing an opportunity for networking in the region and can also be used as a micro-measure for training purposes.
  • Together with partner Conseo GmbH, the TechTruck mobile hands-on laboratory was developed to provide practical information on the potential of new technologies, digitalisation and Industry 4.0 at various locations and events in the region.

In order to support employees’ willingness to change, several digital approaches have been developed based on the evidence-based method of motivational interviewing. As the transformation process does not end with training, another digital tool has been developed to accompany the re- and onboarding process and make it easier for both employers and employees to (re-)enter the labour market after training or retraining.

“Employees, as skilled workers, are the ones who drive change in companies. In the course of the project, it became clear that the willingness to change is a key factor for successful transformation. It is not just a matter of introducing new technologies, but rather companies need to adapt their strategies and processes holistically,” summarises project coordinator Annabell Mitschellen, research associate at the Chair of Work, Organisational and Social Psychology.

Project data:

The project partners of the “ReShape” training alliance are the Automotive Research Centre Niedersachsen (NFF) and the Chair of Work, Organisational and Social Psychology (AOS) at TU Braunschweig, Continental AG, the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences (HSOS), the Automotive Network in the Osnabrück Region (AutOS), the Osnabrück Economic Development Corporation, Clemens Lammers GmbH & Co. KG, Paneuropa Transport GmbH and Frye Transport-Logistik GmbH.

The training network ‘(Re)Shape Automotive Industry: Upskilling and Reskilling’ is funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs until the end of 2024 as part of the federal programme ‘Development of training networks’ and is managed by the project management organisation Gesellschaft für soziale Unternehmensberatung mbH (gsub mbh).