BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosi: 5 years promoting education and talent in Mexico

On a global level, the BMW Group's success is based on the dedication and technical expertise of all its employees. Therefore, since before its inauguration, the BMW Group Plant in San Luis Potosi established as a fundamental objective to promote the talent and develop the potential of young professionals in the region from an early stage.

In this regard, since 2015, the company's Plant in Mexico has positioned itself as an important educational pillar in the state of San Luis Potosi by implementing its "Dual Vocational Training Program", which is a German teaching model based on the promotion of the technical skills of human talent, with the aim of training professionals who acquire the necessary foundations of their profession and immerse themselves in practice - combining the learning and knowledge obtained at school, with workshops that promote skills and experience in a real working environment.

After 5 years of successful implementation of the Dual Program, the BMW Group Plant in Mexico celebrated the graduation of the fourth generation of apprentices of the cycle 2018-2020 formed with a total of 70 students who successfully completed the technical careers of Mechatronics, Production and Automotive Mechanics. 

Jörg Willimayer, President and CEO of BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosí said: "Dual vocational training is an essential part of the training offered by the BMW Group worldwide. The development of our associates' skills and competencies is a key factor for successful operations. The training of our associates together with their experience is the basis for the quality and distinction of our products. Our purpose in San Luis Potosi is to establish ourselves as an important catalyst in terms of education and community development".

Five years after the implementation of the Dual Program at BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosi, the results have been expanded through strategic collaboration agreements with five educational institutions in the state, which has resulted in nearly 350 apprentices who have acquired state-of-the-art and specialized training within the technical careers of Mechatronics, Production and Automotive Mechanics. Likewise, the San Luis Potosi Plant is a world reference thanks to the 36 per cent of women who participate in this program, making more women interested in technical areas within the automotive industry in Mexico.

ProLead program, a further step to boost training and leadership

In 2019, BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosi took a next step in its commitment to education in Mexico by becoming the first company to offer the program "ProLead: Meister in Industrial Mechatronics" to its associates with higher technical university level, which is based on the "Meister" certification offered in Germany by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Munich and Alto Bavaria (IHK München) and developed in Mexico by BMW Group together with the Mexican-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAMEXA).

The mission of this relevant certification is to promote the growth and strengthen the technical and management knowledge of the company's internal talent, in order to develop solid and efficient group of process leaders - the most important interface between the production areas and the plant management.

Today, thanks to the efforts and importance that BMW Group gives to continuous training, the San Luis Potosi Plant is proud to announce the graduation of the first generation of employees who are part of the ProLead program, which formed with nine recent graduated engineers from different universities in the country, as well as nine employees with technical degrees from the areas of Assembly, Painting and Plant Maintenance.

BMW Group: driving growth in San Luis Potosi

The road to developing Mexican talent is just beginning, as BMW Group Plant San Luis Potosi is also welcoming the second generation of students to be part of the ProLead Program; in addition, during September and December of this year, the Plant start the selection  of the sixth generation of apprentices at the Universidad Tecnológica de San Luis Potosi (UTSLP); the Colegio Nacional de Educación Profesional Técnica Plantel "Ing. Manuel Moreno Torres" (CONALEP); the Centro Educativo Vanguardista de San Luis Potosí (CEDVA); the Colegio de Estudios Científicos y Tecnológicos Plantel Real de Minas (CECyTE); and with the Centro de Bachillerato Tecnológico Industrial y de Servicios Plantel 121 (CBTiS). This new group of apprentices will receive technical knowledge and acquire specialized skills that will boost their career in the automotive sector.

"Since we arrived to San Luis Potosi, our goal has been to make the Plant a world reference of innovation and quality, so we will definitely continue betting on promoting a specialized and state-of-the-art education in the state that will boost the manufacture of premium vehicles from Mexico to the world", concluded Jörg Willimayer.