Dachser, a third-party logistics provider based in Kempten, Germany, uses internship and apprenticeship programs to grow its own talent.
“It’s basically breeding and creating a culture where we produce our own talent, as opposed to relying on market talent, which tends to be very competitive and expensive as the market gets tighter and tighter,” Frank Guenzerodt, Dachser USA Air & Sea Logistics president and CEO, told American Shipper.
Individuals who participate in internship, apprenticeship or bachelor programs with Dachser receive compensation.
The programs give Dachser an idea of a person’s work ethic, ability to learn and ability to apply what they he or she has learned, Guenzerodt explained.
Dachser has about 30,500 employees in 44 countries across the globe, including about 320 in the United States. Its strongest presence is in Europe, where it does a lot of trucking, warehousing, logistics and distribution.
In 2017, Dachser posted record revenues of 6.12 billion euros (U.S. $6.91 billion), up 7.2 percent from 2016. Dachser CEO Bernhard Simon said rising rates for air and sea freight helped boost revenues.
Simon also said the company systematically pursued its “successful export strategy for European overland transport and gained an additional tailwind from invigorated global trade.” And Dachser created 1,648 new jobs in 2017.
In Germany, where the company employees roughly 50 percent of its global workforce, Dachser offers very structured and advanced programs, Guenzerodt said. After high school, young people may take apprenticeships to learn about any number of industries. Apprenticeships typically are two- to three-year programs and combines work and school.
“Additionally, they have what’s called integrated degree programs, which is similar to an apprenticeship on a higher level, where instead of having normal schooling, you attend a university and it works fully parallel, where you have three months of working and three months of university. That actually ends with a bachelor’s degree after about three years,” Guenzerodt said.
With its own education program, Dachser has implemented the apprenticeship model in several European countries. Currently, 41 employees are completing the program in the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary.
Job rotation enables Dachser apprentices to get a broad understanding of the whole range of duties within a branch.
Due to growing driver shortages, Dachser has implemented professional truck driver training at 35 locations across Germany.
Guenzerodt told American Shipper that in the United States Dachser subcontracts nearly all shipments to less-than-truckload and full-truckload carriers and owner-operators.
Since 2008, Dachser USA has provided both domestic and international internship opportunities for young professionals interested in logistics careers.
“As an international company, it is extremely helpful to have team members with knowledge of other countries and languages,” Guenzerodt said in a June press release. “I encourage young professionals in the U.S. to be flexible and open to work assignments overseas for a few years to build a career and gain experience.”
Dachser only has about 12 to 15 interns at any given time in the United States. He said the majority of U.S. interns work in parallel with their college studies throughout the year and put in roughly 15 to 25 hours a week.
Through five colleges and universities, interns have gained experience at Dachser offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, Boston and Charlotte, N.C. In collaboration with Dachser Germany, Dachser USA also has enabled international interns to gain experience at the company’s New York and Atlanta offices.
In August, Dachser announced it had opened an office in Detroit to help meet the demand of its customers in the automotive industry. Guenzerodt said Dachser has grown organically in the United States over the last 10 years, from a couple of locations to 17 with Detroit. He said Dachser plans to continue to open one or two offices a year across the country.