Tenth anniversary of BMW Group Training Academy in Unterschleißheim

Three quarters of a million BMW and MINI retail staff trained since 2004

Munich. The BMW Group Training Academy in Unterschleißheim formally celebrated its tenth anniversary on Wednesday. Dr. Herbert Grebenc, head of Real Estate, Facility Management and Corporate Security at BMW Group, and Joachim Geißler, head of Qualification and Retail HR at the BMW Group Training Academy, welcomed the guests. Christoph Böck, Mayor of Unterschleißheim, also attended the ceremony. The BMW Group Training Academy in Unterschleißheim sets global standards for all the company’s retail-related training centres. It is also the starting point for »Future Retail HR«, the BMW Group’s global sales programme for human resource management for retail staff.

Faced with model ramp-ups, new workshop systems and expanded customer contact options, car dealerships and their staff must stay up-to-date at all times to be able to offer customers premium service on a day-to-day basis. Since opening on 29 July 2004, the BMW Group Training Academy in Unterschleißheim has served all the qualification needs of the BMW Group retail organisation in the technical field, as well as in management and sales.

“The modern, open architecture of the BMW Group Training Academy in Unterschleißheim ensures ideal learning conditions. All classrooms are located under one roof and all areas are visually networked for in-depth exchange,” explained Grebenc.

“The BMW Group set new global standards for training in the automotive industry with the opening of the Training Academy in Unterschleißheim in 2004. We are delighted to have BMW’s top training centre here as one of the flagships of our locally-based firms,” said the Mayor of Unterschleißheim.

“The BMW Group Training Academy in Unterschleißheim sets the pace for the BMW Group’s global human resource programme »Future Retail HR«. In this way, we make an essential contribution to the on-going evolution of our BMW dealerships’ high standards and to increasing customer satisfaction worldwide,” added Geißler.

Pacemaker for dealership standards
»Future Retail HR« is part of the BMW Group’s global sales programme »Future Retail«, designed to improve the customer experience and set new standards for retail in the automotive industry. It is supported and implemented from concept to international implementation by the Training Academy in Unterschleißheim. Employer branding and recruitment, measures to promote staff loyalty and satisfaction surveys are all part of »Future Retail HR«. Corresponding training programmes are established in the retail standards of the BMW Group’s European dealer agreements. Future Retail HR services are already being used in retail organisations in Australia, Germany, France, the UK and the US, with other countries to follow.

750,000 staff trained, 25,000 days of training
Since 2004, the Training Academy in Unterschleißheim has trained around three quarters of a million BMW Group retail staff from 80 different countries and supported roughly 100 vehicle launches. 25,000 days of training have been held, with an average of 1,000 events per year in the technical field. Training focuses on combining learning with experience. In technical courses, the practical portion accounts for 80%, while interactive online formats are also used to teach theory. The BMW Group Training Academy in Unterschleißheim employs a staff of almost 200. Field staff, trainers and coaches are required to complete corresponding certification programmes.

There are a total of 51 training centres across all continents. Regular expert meetings between the BMW Group Training Academy in Unterschleißheim and international training centres, as well as “train the trainer” events, ensure the same high level of dealer qualification worldwide.