BMW Launches New Training Center in Debrecen

The BMW Group's iFactory plans are well on track, achieving a major milestone with the inauguration of the Training Center—a facility constructed on-site as part of the ongoing over EUR 2 billion project. With cutting-edge infrastructure at its disposal, the nearly 6,500-square-meter facility allows the BMW Group Plant Debrecen in eastern Hungary employees and those engaging in the in the Dual Apprentice Program to acquire the essential knowledge for the first rollout of the new Neue Klasse model generation in 2025.

In Debrecen, the BMW Group is building its state-of-the-art iFactory on more than 400 hectares, with a press shop, body work, paint shop, assembly and battery module assembly. The company is investing over EUR 2 billion in the site, which will manufacture all-electric vehicles only, starting from 2025. The plant will exclusively produce approximately 150,000 cars per year. The model manufactured in Debrecen will form the basis of NEUE KLASSE, new vehicle architecture for all-electric vehicles.

This fundamental renewal, affecting both planning, product development, manufacturing, and sales, aims to redefine the landscape of personal mobility more user-centric, intelligent, and sustainable.

To ensure highly skilled workforce essential for operating the iFactory, BMW has just opened a two-story Training Center stretching over a hundred meters. This facility is designed both employee training for the BMW Group and serve as a home for the Dual Apprentice Program.

Dual Apprentice Programme launched for the first time in September this year, offers students a three-year course of training in the professions of mechatronics technician, electronics technician, automotive mechatronics technician and IT systems and applications technician, in classrooms equipped with state-of-the-art educational facilities and in a high-tech production environment.

Throughout their training, students will also become acquainted about state-of-the-art technical tools and solutions, including robotics, 3D printing, as well as Industry 4.0, such as virtual and augmented reality solutions, electromobility and motor vehicle diagnostics. The program emphasizes the development of soft skills, encompassing communication, presentation techniques, as well as project management skills and even health awareness.