“We established the Academy not only with the purpose of training our people, but also to create a strong manufacturing community.”
Andrea Pirondini
Chief Operating Officer
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Today, every profession needs continuous training and ongoing skill updates to ensure proficiency and achieve the most ambitious goals. “Our success has been always built upon the spirit of continuous learning”, underlines SVP Fabrizio Rutschmann, HR & Organization of Prysmian Group, the world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry. The Group has always supported the development of its employees through revolutionary career advancement programs. Among them is the Manufacturing Academy in Mudanya. This is where employees are accompanied by senior colleagues and managers, and receive unprecedented insight into the world of manufacturing.
“We established the Academy not only with the purpose of training our people, but also to create a strong manufacturing community.”
Chief Operating Officer
The journey through the Manufacturing Academy starts from the enrollment into Make It, Prysmian Group’s outstanding career development program, which offers a distinctive experience for talented engineers who want an attractive career in a truly manufacturing environment.
After joining the program, the newly hired Prysmian engineers begin their induction with a week in the Milan HQ for an introduction to the Group’s strategy, markets and culture, followed by a week at the new, state-of-the-art Manufacturing Academy in Mudanya, where they are exposed to products and technologies, manufacturing processes and in-plant experiences, receiving an unparalleled insight into the manufacturing world of Prysmian Group.
The Academy is a life-changing occasion for most of the engineers who enroll the program. Madalina Ursu, a Product Development Engineer working in the UK, says: “In order to cope with the job, you need to develop yourself every day, think outside the box, listen to the experienced people. At the Academy I found the right people to help me reorganize my work environment.” A feeling shared by a fellow engineer from Romania, Cristina Nedelcu, BSc in Applied electronics, adds: “There is a quote saying: ‘hire for attitude, train for skills.’ Prysmian starts with that but all along adds self-confidence and a sense of mission.
”The Manufacturing Academy portfolio offers three different curriculum, according to the roles and the seniority of the participants: Manufacturing Fundamentals, Advanced Manufacturing and Excellence in Manufacturing. The lecturers are experts coming from both the global Prysmian Group and from its Turkish branch, who share their specialized knowledge and experience on different topics of cable manufacturing.
Kirra Brooks, Industrial Engineer from the USA, says: “following the program, I’ve adapted to the Prysmian way of life, it’s a very fast paced environment with lots of opportunity to make contributions to the company. I’ve increased my skills not only in knowledge of products but also with trouble shooting our manufacturing processes and better understanding the overall product flow throughout the entire plant.”
Vitor Oliveira, a Brazilian engineer employed by Prysmian in the USA, recalls “feeling part of Prysmian from day one. In Milan, I had the opportunity to learn so much about the company. That allowed me to understand the culture from the beginning. I am still on my learning curve as far as skills go, but learning a lot every day. I am lucky enough to have a very experienced and open minded staff that helps me adapt and accept new ideas.”
Some participants also liked the international environment they encountered in Mudanya. Mohamadou Diaw, from Senegal, tells:“I met many people from about 20 different countries and many diverse backgrounds, which provided me not only with insights on how people from different plants and locations from all over the world work with Prysmian, but also showed me interesting differences in the many cultures that are part of our global team.” An awareness echoed by Marina Brandao Leoni, from Brazil, underlines that “the program has brought learning and benefits, such as networking with the Make It engineers from many countries, staying in contact with our global leaders, international experiences, technical training in manufacturing and good practices of production. Regarding the skills learned, I believe I have evolved a lot since the beginning of the program, becoming more prepared and professional.”