TRUMPF vision

Overview

German industry is losing its innovative edge. Only a small share of companies still count as innovation leaders, and by 2028 almost 768,000 skilled workers will be missing, especially in mechanical and electrical engineering. Yet a key part of the answer already sits inside these companies: apprentices and dual students who grew up with digital change bring fresh perspectives and question established routines. Industrial training rarely makes use of this potential. One-off workshops fade quickly, innovation methods are largely absent, and trainers are tied up in administration.

vision responds with a structured system. Over eight months, apprentices and dual students work voluntarily in interdisciplinary teams on real challenges from their company, one hour per week. The analog vision book guides them through eight phases from team building to final pitch, the vision cards make 13 future skills tangible in their own project, and the digital vision lab lets companies steer the program, document results and turn project data into AI-driven trend reports for training and education. The strongest teams can continue their idea as an internal startup.

How we worked

vision was developed in close collaboration with the TRUMPF Education Center in Ditzingen and designed around the real conditions of industrial training. The project is grounded in desk research on innovation capacity and the skills gap, interviews and workshops with trainers, apprentices and dual students, and iterative testing of the formats on site. Business model, pricing and implementation were developed alongside the design work, resulting in a system that is ready for real-world use and was presented to TRUMPF's training leadership.

‍