12/07/2018 by I-CAR

As talent attraction and retention becomes a critical differentiator to today’s businesses, one OEM, Volkswagen, is recalibrating its efforts through a new on-site school. 
 
31 students have left their traditional high school experience, opting instead to attend the Volkswagen Mechatronics Akademie, an innovative collaboration between Volkswagen Chattanooga, Chattanooga State Community College and the Hamilton County Department of Education (HCDE). The novel program is like no other, infusing the study of mechatronics, a multi-disciplinary engineering field, into their daily learnings, all at a real-time global vehicle manufacturer’s campus.
 
Solomon Bridgeman, a senior beginning his second year of the two-year program, has eagerly awaited his return to the Akademie. He looks forward to returning to one subject in particular. “Welding is my favorite—I love it,” he said.
 
Keith King, a communications specialist with Volkswagen Chattanooga, notes that the Akademie represents an investment in talent.
 
“Talent is a huge commodity,” says Keith King, a communications specialist with Volkswagen Chattanooga. “Our education programs help us invest in the talent process at an earlier stage in student development.” 
 
The Akademie’s launch in 2017 follows the 10-year-success of Volkswagen Chattanooga’s post-secondary education program, which boasts a record of 100 percent of its graduates receiving conditional job offers from Volkswagen Chattanooga. 
 
You can read our full story about the Volkswagen Mechatronics Akademie, here.