Sharing the value of training with younger generations. The Feralpi Group actively collaborates with technical higher education establishments. The course has also been awarded quality certification from Confindustria.
Collaboration with local educational establishments
Since autumn 2017, the Feralpi Group has been collaborating in a new course offered by a Mechatronics Technical College, which has followed on from the partnership between IIS Cerebotani in Lonato del Garda and Associazione Industriale Bresciana.
This is a two-year advanced technical course resulting in a higher diploma in automation and mechatronic systems, which is recognised at a European level and is characterised by skills to create, integrate and control machines and automatic systems.
The first course was completed in July 2019, and in October 2019 another two-year course commenced, which is currently in progress with 27 students. In October 2020 the third course started with 25 students (therefore 70 in total over the three courses).
The college reproduces the German dual work-education model and features input from companies through professionals and instructors, as a considerable amount of the training is delivered directly by company technicians.
The relationship with this college was further reinforced in November 2019 when Feralpi Siderurgica joined the Lombardy Technical College for Engineering Technologies & Mechatronics as a Participating Member.
The value of training
After obtaining the quality mark for the dual work-education scheme , the parent company Feralpi Siderurgica obtained quality certification from Confindustria, which is awarded to companies that are actively committed to training future generations, by setting up courses in partnership with educational establishments and creating conditions to improve young people's employment opportunities.
This objective also meets one of the targets of the eighth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), to reduce the number of unemployed youths and individuals classed as NEET (not in education, employment or training).
Training courses on the steel industry
For years the Feralpi Group has been supporting training for future technicians with courses set up regularly in the province of Brescia.
In the two-year period 2014/2015, Feralpi featured as a partner in the higher technical college course on installation and maintenance techniques for mechanical, metallurgical and steel production plants. The aim of the project, led by Fondazione AIB, was to recruit newly-qualified young people through a course containing practice and theory that focuses on acquiring specialist professional and technical skills. The Feralpi Group provided an important contribution with input from eight highly-skilled company technicians, who delivered approximately half of the specialist training.
This project has resulted in the recruitment of four new maintenance technicians who obtained their specialist technical qualification in June 2015.
A similar training course was set up for the two-year period 2015/2016 on the installation and maintenance of domestic and industrial systems - energy efficient systems, offered in collaboration with CFP Zanardelli of Brescia, and this led to the company recruiting 5 course attendees who obtained their diploma.