To give our new employees the option to get to know the company and their new colleagues better, ebm-papst organizes an introductory week every year. Alongside safety instructions, informational presentations and tours through location production halls or the new logistics center, the youth and trainee council organizes a rally in which the trainees must answer questions in departments and divisions. This gives them a chance to make initial contact with their future colleagues. At the end of the week, they are assigned to their workstations. “The introductory week allows our new trainees to get to know each other and become part of the ebm-papst community quickly. We want the young people to feel at home from the very beginning. And during the week, they find out everything they need to know to make their first months easier,” said Bernd Ludwig, head of the trainee program at ebm-papst Mulfingen. And a group barbecue and a trip to the zip line park in Waldenburg the following week enhanced the feeling of community among the trainees. For several years, ebm-papst has focused on growing the number of young women in its technical training programs. With various initiatives, including Girls’ Day, the Jugend forscht regional competition and various technology-related programs, the fan manufacturer actively seeks to boost teens’ interest in the natural sciences and technology, and give them insight into the company at an early age. The company’s efforts to raise the number of young women in its technology-related areas have been successful: around 20 percent of new trainees and students in the commercial-technical area are female. One of them is Inka Balbach from Niederstetten. The 19-year-old is starting her apprenticeship as an electronics technician for devices and systems. She went to Information Technology High School in Bad Mergentheim and knew at an early age that she wanted to do something with technology. “I have always enjoyed it,” Balbach said. “I really wanted to work with my hands and learn things that can also help me in everyday life.” Participating in a Girls’ Day event reinforced her desire. On her first day at ebm-papst, Balbach was somewhat nervous, but was looking forward to the new phase of her life: “I felt integrated immediately and they take lots of time to explain everything.”