Volkswagen Uses ‘Escape Rooms’ to Train EV Assemblers
WOLFSBORO, Germany—Volkswagen AG is teaching assemblers how to produce electric vehicles at its flagship factory here. As part of the initiative, the automaker has opened an eMotionRoom where employees can enjoy an entertaining experience while learning about the transformation from ICE to EV production. It is part of a one-day training program called eMotionDay.
The eMotionRoom was developed in-house by the Volkswagen Group Academy and the plant’s organizational units. It has three intricately designed rooms. Employees must solve various puzzles and problems in each of these rooms within 20 minutes.
The challenge begins with a journey back in time to the 19th century with the invention of the first electric motors. The second room traces the history of the Wolfsburg location, which began producing cars in 1945. The third room examines the digital future of driving.
Teams made up of four people each must solve various problems in each room to open the door. Each group is guided by two instructors from the Group Academy via a video link.
“Volkswagen is constantly working on innovative training and development concepts as we move toward becoming a provider of sustainable and software-oriented mobility,” says Gunnar Kilian, board member for human resources at Volkswagen. “These concepts are our key to a successful transformation.
“The more digital our world becomes, the more crucial our team’s skills become for our competitiveness,” explains Kilian. “[We have] launched a broad-based retraining campaign at [our] German sites, and the escape rooms play an important role in this initiative.”
“The eMotionRoom principle already met with very positive feedback from our employees in Zwickau,” adds Gerardo Scarpino, deputy chairman of the general works council at Volkswagen. The transition to e-mobility can only happen together with our colleagues.
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“Getting them on board, inspiring and training them is absolutely crucial to our collective success,” claims Scarpino. “That is because we can only master the transformation together, and the eMotionRoom is a key part of the puzzle.”
Subassembly of the ID.3 begins at the Wolfsburg plant this fall, and will be followed by full production of substantial numbers of the popular electric model from mid-2024.
“The new production line will give us more flexibility than ever before,” says Rainer Fessel, plant manager. “The assembly line will be the first…that is able to build both EV and ICE vehicles on the same line. The future Scalable Systems Platform will make Wolfsburg Volkswagen’s first multiplatform factory [starting in 2026].”
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