Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil visited the SKZ Lab in Peine
The SKZ student lab is a successful project in terms of securing skilled workers and practical career orientation. Due to the high demand from schools, but also from business and politics, the Federal Minister of Labor and member of the Bundestag from Peine, Hubertus Heil, visited the SKZ-Lab in Peine together with the SPD member of the Landtag, Julius Schneider, at the beginning of June.
Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (left) and Member of the State Parliament Julius Schneider (right) were able to look over the shoulders of the students as they worked in the student lab. (Photo: SKZ)
Supporters sought for continuation of successful model
"The SKZ Lab is an important contribution to securing the skilled workforce of tomorrow and thus part of a fundamental task of politics and business," explains project manager Annette von Hörsten. For this reason, the Federal Minister of Labor and Peiner Member of the Bundestag Hubertus Heil and SPD Member of the Landtag Julius Schneider made themselves a picture of a Lab day. "Time and again, we experience the enthusiasm with which the students are active here," emphasized Dr. Benjamin Baudrit, Deputy Managing Director of Research and Education at SKZ, on the occasion of the visit to the site in Peine, Lower Saxony. Various apprenticeships and courses of study will be presented and job profiles in industry will be shown.
The SKZ Lab is completely free of charge for participating school classes and is currently being financed in Peine through an EU funding program. "A Lab appointment costs around 2500 to 3000 euros. As a non-profit limited company, we provide materials, machines and personnel, but we have to counter-finance this. The SKZ Lab does not make a profit, but is intended to help secure the next generation of workers. We are already seeing personnel bottlenecks in many plastics processing companies," emphasizes site manager Andreas Grzeskowiak. Unfortunately, funding has not yet been secured beyond the end of the funding period, so the SKZ is actively looking for supporters and sponsors. The Federal Minister of Labor is convinced of the project and, at the end of his visit, also promises to recruit new supporters in his environment. Sponsors on the part of the industry are likewise cordially welcome and receive in return the possibility their own enterprise and the offered training places to present.
SKZ has also been offering the project at its site in Peine since 2021 and has already welcomed 1,300 students there. As part of a student lab day, a school class simulates the work processes in an industrial company for one day. The project focuses on a high degree of self-organization and practical relevance. The SKZ employees take on a supporting and observing role. The students gain an insight into the world of work and, due to the unusual high pedagogical approach, often a boost of ideas and motivation for their later choice of profession or study. The school class is divided into the departments of a company: development, production/technology, management, marketing and sustainability.
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