Reinforcing its commitment to vocational training, Lufthansa Technik will be adding 280 young people to its technical careers workforce, up from 235 last year. The company made the announcement recently during a visit by former soccer star Uwe Seeler and the president of the Hamburg chamber of commerce, Frank Horch, to the Lufthansa Technik training workshop in Hamburg. As of this summer, Lufthansa Technik will have about 800 apprentices.

The largest training centers are in Hamburg (137 new apprentices), Frankfurt (105) and Munich (30). Under the banner of “Technics Students,” Lufthansa Technik is expanding its collaboration with institutes of higher education by offering 33 places in six practically oriented courses of study. The most recent addition to its curriculum is a “Bachelor of engineering aircraft maintenance,” for which 10 places have been allocated.

Besides the traditional careers in aviation as an aircraft mechanic or an electronics technician, Lufthansa Technik trains toolmakers, warehouse logistics experts, surface coating technicians and management assistants in office communication. About 5,000 young men and women so far have applied for a training position at Lufthansa Technik for the year beginning in 2008. Most of the places on offer have now been filled. The company will begin accepting applications for next year this summer.