For five years now, it has been an integral part of talent development at Bühler – the International Management Trainee Program. A program that gives young talents the chance to take on responsibility, work closely with top management, and participate in international projects. However, the trainee program not only offers fantastic opportunities for young talents, but also for Bühler as an innovative company.
Elke Thamm, Stefanie Gegier, March 25, 2021
In 2015, the first management trainees started in a pilot phase, with the aim of Bühler to train them as junior managers. A lot has happened since then: 17 trainees are currently in the program, and thirteen have already completed it and continued their careers at Bühler afterwards. “The trainee program has given me the chance to discover Bühler from different angles, to work on challenging projects, and to build a strong professional network,” says Erika Georget, who was among the first trainees 2015 and now works as a Head of Food Bioprocessing.
The trainee program spans over three years and consists of three twelve-month modules. In the first year, trainees serve in an assisting role to a top management leader and learn firsthand what leadership competence means. In the second and third year, the career paths are more tailored to their needs and strengths. The trainees bring their own ideas to the table and largely choose their future area of work themselves and can actively shape their trainee program in line with the business need; going abroad for a year, managing projects, developing new business ideas, and acquiring knowledge from various departments.
A win-win situation
But the program is not only beneficial for the trainees. “For us, it’s an excellent opportunity to attract young talents, train them and test them. We present the trainees with demanding challenges that make them grow and get out of their comfort zone,” says Ian Roberts, CTO at Bühler, who has already supervised and mentored a number of trainees in Corporate Technology (CT). The trainees would show great commitment and dedication to Generation B and the development of new business lines. An inspiring example is the development of cellular agriculture or bioprocess activities management, which is mainly accelerated by the trainees. Shandel Ong, Global HR Business Partner SAS, who has accompanied trainees in Singapore, also sees the Management Trainee Program as a win-win situation: “The trainees can devote themselves under guidance to business projects for which regular employees have no capacity, as they focus on our customers and operations.” Once such projects have reached a certain level of maturity, they can be handed over for integration into operations.
I really like the flexibility the trainee program offers. I look forward to working with different people!
Yi Chen,
Management Trainee at Bühler
The program is giving us a chance to discover Bühler from different perspectives, develop skills, work on challenging projects and build a strong professional network very early on in our career.
Cathrin Flühler,
Management Trainee at Bühler
It is a place that allows you to fail and grow under the full support of top management teams.
Xi Chen,
Management trainee at Bühler
The Management Trainee Program allows me to operate ‘between the lines’. Through the BIMTP, my aim is to encourage Collaboration to bridge gaps between Bühler Business Units, Regions and Customers.
Aashish Mane,
Management Trainee at Bühler
I deeply value the trust and responsibility I am given as a trainee to pursue strategically relevant innovation projects. I am also thrilled to expand my global network and skillset through an assignment abroad.
Noëmi Kaufmann,
Management Trainee at Bühler
I appreciate the flexibility of the program as it allows me to shape my path within Bühler and it offers me opportunities to see the company from different vantage points to learn how the organization comes together as a whole.
Christina Thürlimann,
Management Trainee at Bühler
Finding and developing talent
The trainee program is open to international Master’s and PhD graduates from a variety of degree programs, making it attractive for young talents with different backgrounds and qualifications: Be it Engineering, Food Science, MTEC (Management, Technology, and Economics), or Business Administration. For Bühler, it is therefore an additional channel to expand the talent pipeline and bring diversity into the organization. Among current trainees as well as alumni, 13 different nationalities are represented. Bühler’s next step is to establish the program even more in the regions to acquire graduates from top universities internationally. The further development of the program is an ongoing process with the aim of attracting those talents who are willing to take on responsibility, who want to make a positive difference with their innovative ideas, and who have the potential to act in a leadership role at Bühler in the future.
Trainees 2020 are on board
Last November, the 2020 trainee cohort has been completed and the talent pipeline is once again filled with six young talents. Five of them have started their trainee program in various departments in Uzwil. One trainee is completing his first module at the Consumer Foods site in Leobendorf. More information about the active trainees and the program can be found on the Trainee B-World page.
Gupfenstrasse 5
Uzwil
9240
Switzerland
