Professional development

Our employees are our most important assets. This creates an obligation for us to promote the qualification and competency of our team.

During our annual progress talks (in which supervisors and employees meet as equals), the professional development needs of every employee are defined and the corresponding continuing qualification agreed to. Internal development options range from professional training to project management and social qualification all the way to in-house internships and job rotation measures. In 2010, ALTANA invested approximately € 1.7 million in the continu¬ing qualification of its employees (not counting operational training).

On average, every employee took part in some 15 hours of external training.
We offer a variety of staff development programs for especially talented, capable, and committed employees to give them an opportunity to prepare intensively for further, more complex tasks. The Management Development Program (MDP) was introduced in 2004. It prepares executives from all ALTANA companies who show management potential for further tasks within the Group in the context of international training sessions offered in English. This program was expanded by five regional programs (Regional Development Programs) in 2007, which are primarily offered in the local language. DP Asia, DP China, DP Americas, DP Italy, and DP Germany have allowed even larger numbers of employees to participate in a qualification measure.

Our Cross-Divisional Development Program Innovation – or CDDP Innovation for short – primarily targets junior talent with a back¬ground in the natural sciences. In contrast to other programs, it is associated with a change of workplace within the Group. The program not only emphasizes professional skills, but also focuses on furthering personal factors, such as social skills. As part of the training, employees are given the opportunity to share experiences with coworkers from other Divisions, which has a positive effect on teambuilding. The networking within our company benefits our employees and supports them with their daily tasks.