Gaining and retaining the best minds is crucial for a company’s future business development. The demand for female graduates – in particular in technical fields of study – is much higher than the potential that is available on the labour market. Since diversity is also important at a technically-focused company such as ours, we have set ourselves the goal of attracting more female technical professionals to work at the Energie AG Group.

After an extensive analytical phase, an employer branding concept was developed in the 2017/2018 fiscal year. This is primarily intended to appeal to young women in academia and meet their needs. Appearing at many events and using online media, we have also advertised a scholarship programme for female technical staff and a trainee programme focusing on women in technical positions. The scholarship programme aims to draw female students’ attention to Energie AG as an employer at an early stage, creating a connection between them and the company. The trainee programme also looks to bring young female academics to the company straight after they have graduated. Four female technical students were awarded scholarships in January 2018. Nine young women and three young men with academic credentials started the trainee programme on 1 October 2018. We view employer branding as a permanent project rather than a one-time pursuit.