Gütersloh, 04/25/2017

Business Training for Humanities Students

A humanities student becoming the CEO of a large company? It can’t possibly work! In September 2016, the team behind the Bertelsmann employers' initiative "Create Your Own Career" created quite a stir with its deliberately provocative message in ads that were served in university magazines and on social media, among other things. And the marketing campaign for the new Bertelsmann Creative Management Program (CMP) proved effective: Around 700 humanities and social sciences graduates indicated their interest in a trainee program of business content custom-tailored for them. In an extensive selection process, five participants were chosen, who have now begun the program on Apr 1 with a seven-day "Boot Camp" in Gütersloh.

"Humanities and social science students have carved out many career paths in our Group in the past as well," explains CHRO Immanuel Hermreck. "Our Creative Management Program seeks to prepare them to take on traditional management roles in a more systematic way. Graduates in these fields possess important skills for future management tasks, such as creativity and great communication skills. We’d like to further expand on these with the program and supplement them with additional success-critical qualifications."

Four placements in 20 months

"We are delighted that the concept has been so well received in the market," says Nico Rose, Bertelsmann Senior Director Corporate Management Development. "It is far from commonplace for media like 'Wirtschaftswoche' or 'FAZ' to report on a new recruiting measure. We’ve obviously struck a nerve with our targeting of humanities students and sharply focused communications."

At the seven-day "Boot Camp" in Gütersloh, the CMP participants were initially introduced to Bertelsmann’s structures and corporate culture. Another focus was training in various business subjects, such as management accounting (cost/performance calculation) and discounted cash-flow analyses. This included a one-day business planning game, for which five trainees currently enrolled in Bertelsmann’s work/study program joined them. The trainees will further enhance the business administration knowledge acquired by taking courses on the Lynda.com corporate training platform.