20 years of RCG apprenticeships: Congratulations from those who have been part of the journey

This year made it clearer than ever just how valuable digitalisation is for apprenticeships. The RCG trainers recognised this early on and provided all the apprentices with notebooks, set up digital apprentice platforms as part of an apprentice portal, and created a modern environment to accommodate distance learning.

In the context of our digital service portfolio SmartLINK, we are also focusing even more on digital rail logistics when it comes to training our young talent. SmartLINK gives you a clear and straightforward overview of how rail freight transport works. After all, rail is the future, and this means our young talent is too. They are part of the solution for protecting the environment and the climate.

Our partners and RCG staff send their congratulations:

Franz Heißenberger I Head of Apprentice Training (top left)

One thing is clear – the personal commitment of all our colleagues involved in training our apprentices are what make it so successful. Together, we have been able to create a base of young talent that is future-fit and ready to embark on a career at the RCG. I am incredibly proud of this. I want to thank everyone who created this future-oriented RCG freight forwarding apprenticeship project and who has done such a great job developing it. There have been many highlights along the way: presenting our European project “RCG European Weeks” at the European Commission in Brussels during the Vocational Skills Week 2017 was a big one. We also received an award for this. Even though the European Weeks had to be put on hold this year, we are going to step them up in the future. The future is going to bring many more exciting challenges – digitalisation, climate change, mobility concepts and much more. In our team, we are going to keep working on providing our RCG apprentices with equally fantastic future opportunities throughout the company. Let’s keep going from strength to strength!

Mag. Susanne Klimmer I Managing Director IFA Association – International Young Workers Exchange (Verein IFA - Internationaler Fachkräfteaustausch) (top right)

The Rail Cargo Group is a model company when it comes to internationalising apprenticeships. Giving apprentices and experts the opportunity to do internships abroad makes a huge contribution to developing the quality of training and professional skills. The Rail Cargo Group recognised this early on and has made it possible for apprentices and professionals to acquire these skills and engage with partners abroad for many years. We at the IFA are very grateful to have been working with the Rail Cargo Group for years and that we are helping improve the quality and international scope of apprenticeships.

Congratulations on this 20 year anniversary! We are looking forward to many more years working together!

Birgit Schmöller I Head of Human Resources (bottom left)

It makes me proud when I see the great enthusiasm and sense of responsibility that goes into training young people to become logistics experts. Especially in times like these when we’re dealing with corona, we’ve proved that everybody – from apprentices to our departments right through to our CEOs – has really pulled together. New ways of teaching and learning mean that the apprenticeships could also take place professionally via distance learning. Cross-generational teamwork and learning from each other is something we live out. It’s what makes work fun!

Mag. Davor Sertic, MBA I CEO UnitCargo (bottom right)

Logistics is a future-oriented industry; we didn’t need the corona crisis to show us that. The Rail Cargo Group was well aware of this 20 years ago – that’s how old the freight forwarding apprenticeships are this year. Congratulations! Training the next generation means a lot to me personally. I have been working closely with those in charge of training at the Rail Cargo Group for 10 years and we have carried out a lot of projects to help train staff. The RCG’s goal is to contribute to the whole logistics industry through this training. That’s important, because well-trained young logistics talent is the key to our industry’s growth and to securing supplies for the whole world. Congratulations on your anniversary! Here’s to at least another 20 years of success!

Boglarka Mondvay-Nemeth I Head of HR Development (top left)

What customers expect from us rail logistics experts has changed dramatically over the past few years. This is why we also need to set new standards for training our apprentices and make what is already a top quality programme even more diverse, digital and exciting. This is how we will continue to ignite young people’s passion for rail and secure our sustainable future.

Robert Frasch I Founder of the network lehrlingspower.at (top right)

Training people to become experts is not a sprint: as one of our country’s largest logistics companies, the Rail Cargo Group and its motivated staff make sure that goods get delivered day in, day out. This requires dedication and professionalism. The RCG has been demonstrating this for the past 20 years through the training it offers its apprentices. The project-based training develops the apprentices’ professional skills and their international focus, and this has earned them many awards. They have also completed a lot of ambitious projects to integrate digital media into the world of work.

On behalf of the many young people who started out on their careers at the RCG, I wish the RCG many more years of successful apprenticeships. So, “Happy Birthday RCG Apprenticeships” and every success for the next 20 years!

Eva Macku I RCG Trainer Team (bottom left)

I enjoy accompanying our apprentices along part of their apprenticeship journey. It is really nice to see how the young people grow with their tasks and proudly report back about things they have already been able to do by themselves. So when they have completed their apprenticeships, I often see confident young adults standing in front of me who have developed on a personal level too. I also meet many former apprentices who step into the role of a trainer – I think that’s nice to see.

Mag. Ingeborg Jindra I Managing Director progresso Jindra & Keck OG Consulting (bottom right)

All of us at progresso are absolutely delighted about RCG’s 20 years of apprenticeships. Everyone involved can be proud of how they have contributed to this success story. In the 5 years we have been working together, we have able to experience what high quality training apprentices receive in your company.

The RCG apprenticeship course stands out for me because of its high degree of professionalism, its future focus, service orientation and the human touch.

I thoroughly enjoy working with the RCG and its apprentices. Congratulations and enjoy the celebrations! We wish all the apprentices, trainers and the whole RCG many more years of success!

Wolfgang Riedl I Head of Service Delivery (top left)

20 years of apprenticeships at the RCG is an immense success. Over all these years, I have met so many enthusiastic and dedicated young people. Many of them also completed their university entrance exams at the same time as their apprenticeships. Some of them also seized the opportunity to do a part-time university degree. I’m especially pleased to see how the apprenticeship opens up so many opportunities within the company, so today we can find qualified apprentices in all sorts of divisions and roles at the RCG. They have really made their mark on the RCG’s spirit and the company’s development. All the trainers and our colleagues who have contributed to the programme with their heart’s blood and creative ideas are also key to its success.

Hubert Hilgert I Managing Director playmit GmbH (top right)

I was invited to the presentation of the apprentice project “Digital Natives & Digital Immigrants”, where playmit.com was used as a presentation tool. I was very impressed by the courage these young people had to stand in front of an audience and present their findings. Also by the engaging way they presented the information to the guests. I think that projects like this really give young people the chance to grow.

Congratulations to the Rail Cargo Group on your 20 year anniversary and to the whole team for your commitment and the creative ideas you have for the apprentices.

Norbert Rothbart I RCG Central Works Council (bottom left)

20 years of RCG apprenticeships show that a majestic tree can grow from a tiny seed. When it started out, the apprenticeships were the only way we were able to bring new staff into the company. Today, we can look back with pride at how the apprenticeships have developed. Our Head of Training Franz Heißenberger, the trainers and managers have succeeded in growing a big tree out of a tiny seed. We at the Works Council have helped the apprenticeships grow too; you could say we were the “fertilizer” that helped them blossom. We can be extremely proud of this success story. Here’s to 20 more years of apprenticeships!

Roman Wimmer I RCG Trainer Team (bottom right)

The best way to learn during an apprenticeship is learning by doing! Helping young people grow and develop into skilled professionals is a great responsibility. This responsibility of accompanying young people along part of their professional and personal journeys has to be my personal highlight!

Dipl. Päd. Georg Schober I Headmaster Mitterdorf Vocational School (Landesberufsschule Mitterdorf) (top left)

The Mitterdorf Vocational School (Landesberufsschule Mitterdorf) has been a central hub for training in Austria for 45 years. “Rail” transport has been a core element of our training from the very start. We have worked closely with the RCG to give pupils modern ways to learn. This successful collaboration doesn’t just benefit the RCG apprentices, it also has an impact on Austria’s entire freight forwarding industry. Excursions, field trips and lectures in “rail transport”, all with great support from the RCG over the past 20 years, have made lessons especially enriching and dynamic.

We’re delighted to be continuing this “success model” for the RCG apprentices at the Mitterdorf Vocational School and look forward to what the future will bring!

Michael Orasch I RCG Trainer Team (top right)

I am the youngest regional trainer and have been part of the team for a year now. I’m really impressed by everything the RCG offers our young trainees and by the enthusiasm and commitment the whole team brings to the apprenticeship programme. It really thrills me to see these young people brimming with energy and passion as they work on carving out their future careers during their apprenticeships.

Dipl. Päd. Barbara Jarka I Headmistress Vocational School Industry, Finance and Transport Vienna (BS Industrie, Finanzen und Transport Wien) (bottom left)

We have had the pleasure of being part of the RCG’s in-house freight forwarding and logistics apprenticeships for 20 years now. Many joint steps have been taken towards developing the quality of apprenticeships in the course of our training partnership. A few examples of this include adapting curricula to meet current training requirements, and spearheading the urgently needed reform of the final apprenticeship examination in the State of Vienna.

Together, we have succeeded in motivating our trainees to build on their knowledge above and beyond the dual training programme. The “Business English Certificate”, working towards the university entrance exam and success in a range of competitions (see photo below) are clear proof of this.

Mag. Petra Gartner I Director CEF Competence Center East (CCE), KERN CEF (bottom right)

Congratulations to the Rail Cargo Group on your 20 year anniversary! We have had the pleasure of supporting RCG apprentices across Austria with our English courses for years. We give them linguistic skills and set them up for a career in the international world of rail logistics. The RCG knows how important it is to have good English skills, and gives its apprentices fantastic language training opportunities to equip them for every challenge they will face. Over the years, we have developed a strong partnership, and one that means a lot to us.

This great collaboration makes us very happy!

Thank you very much and here’s to many more years!