A professionally designed careers website for trainees as part of the company’s website is a must for companies offering training. After all, company websites are one of the top sources of information for young people looking for a training vacancy. The advantages of a career website are obvious. It is always and everywhere online and as such has an almost unlimited reach as an advertising instrument. It can provide highly detailed information and link current training vacancies with diverse information.

Here’s how it works:

• If you do not have a training careers site, set one up. They can either be part of a general careers webpage (as a separate category) or, better yet, create your trainee careers site as its own micro-site. In any case separate the areas addressed to potential trainees from those of other applicants.
• Grab attention by pointing to this site right on the home page (for instance, by creating its own tab or link). There should be a careers button in the main navigation bar.
• Consider the exact information that you want to deliver to young people interested in training on your careers website. Align it to the information requirements of young people. The goal of your site must be to arouse interest among young people and motivate them to submit an application.

What information do young people want on a trainee career website?

Information on the following topics is particularly important to young people:

1. Job profile
2. Company
3. Content of training
4. Instructors
5. Training stipend
6. Job security, acquisition opportunities and career prospects
7. Work environment

• In addition to this standard information you can present more content to increase your attractiveness to the target group. Mention anything that makes you stand out as a company offering training. This could include relocation assistance, help with career counseling, an above-average work environment, or opportunities to work in different locations. In addition, other aspects such as access to public transportation, leisure facilities, childcare facilities and information about the advantages of the region for young applicants can be discussed.
• On the careers website, feel free to go into detail, describing the typical work week of a trainee, for instance. This helps applicants imagine exactly what is in store for them.
• Current vacancies are an important component of career sites. Ensure that the training vacancy announcements on your careers website are adapted to the screen sizes of mobile devices (for mobile recruiting). The rising trend among young candidates, in particular, is reading ads on smartphones or tablets.
• Timeliness counts. Maintain the career websites continuously and make sure to update job vacancies. Hardly anything looks more unprofessional than an unkempt and outdated appearance.

• To attract applicants for training positions to your website, consider offering additional services or aids, such as application tips, newsletters with current vacancies, etc.

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Project “StartApp – Starting with Apprenticeship” supports small and medium sized businesses (SME) in intensifying their commitment to in-company training. To that end, this project provides solutions for the recruitment of young people interested in on the job training. Here the focus is on methods of acquisition, selection and integration of trainees during the first phase of their staff membership in the company.

The handbook “Finding and retaining trainees” is a guide for companies that want to make their trainee recruitment capable of addressing the current challenges in the training market. It guides the reader step by step through the individual phases of recruitment. Numerous tips and instructions ensure successful implemen tation of the recruitment measures in a practical business environment. It reveals new ways to inspire young people for a career and win them over as trainees.