Nowadays, companies have to think of something to attract applicants. Many woo the future workforce with cool events, attractive offers and good food. At the IT giant Capgemini, this event is called the “expedITion Summit” – a report.
This weekend, 200 young people are crowding into the renovated former Munich power station, 130 of them are students, graduates or young professionals. Over the course of two days, the young computer strategists can expect lectures, good food, discussions with industry insiders and one-on-one discussions with the company's HR managers and, at the end, perhaps an employment contract.
Tassilo Bade from Werder/Havel is one of them. He studied business informatics at a technical college and during that time completed an internship at Capgemini, then he became a working student and also wrote his bachelor's thesis at the company. He has now started his master's degree at the TU Berlin. Now he sits next to me in an exhibition car that Capgemini has modified with IT technology and raves about his work. I want to know why he stayed with the company after his internship. “The atmosphere was good, I was taken seriously. Even as an intern, I was immediately part of the team and felt like I had arrived quickly,” says the 27-year-old. He can also imagine continuing to work for Capgemini.
There were times when a company only had to place an ad in the local newspaper and a hundred applicants would come rushing in. Those days are over. If you want to score points with “Generation Y”, you have to come up with a little more and woo them. Some companies organize sailing trips, others organize football games or go camping with young graduates and students. Capgemini has been relying on the “expedITion” summit for some time, which always takes place in Munich, but always at another interesting location. In 2012 the large media center in Munich Unterföhrung was the venue, this year the meeting took place in the old power station. Anyone who is here from the corporate side knows the IT industry like the back of their hand. Anyone who is here as a student or graduate has completed an IT course, is currently doing so, or knows that their path will lead them in this direction. Motivation is everything and you can almost feel the creative spirit that hovers over everything at this two-day event. The top management is also present. In his opening speech, Germany CTO (Chief Technology Officer) Dr. Uwe Dumslaff said to the young interested parties: “Make something of this mixture of being well educated and ambitious that makes up this proud generation.” His eyes light up. When he came to the company, events like “expedITion 2013” were still a thing of the future and he regrets that a little, as he later tells me, because an event like this can be a great orientation aid for a student. Even though the Capgemini “expedITion Summit” is only taking place for the third time, Dumslaff is convinced that he has found the right event: “It has gotten better every year and the “expedITion Summit” is now established as a brand. It gives young people the chance to get to know us, establish and deepen contacts. And we have the opportunity to draw from the talent pool.” Prof. Dr. Alexander Pretschner from the Technical University of Munich has been accompanying the events for a long time. He is also convinced of its benefits and says: “If I have the feeling that it is good, then I recommend it to students.”
In autumn, Capgemini will start again with nationwide workshops. Students, graduates and young professionals will come together again and some of them will see each other again at “expedITion 2014”.
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Nowadays, companies have to think of something to attract applicants. Many woo the future workforce with cool events, attractive offers and good food. At the IT giant Capgemini, this event is called the “expedITion Summit” – a report. This weekend, 200 young people are crowding into the renovated former Munich power station, 130 of them are students and graduates
