STILL won third place in a competition where Hamburg-based companies were evaluated by their apprentices.

STILL GmbH has been selected as one of Hamburg's best companies for vocational training.

The German forklift manufacturer won third place in a competition organised by the leading Hamburg daily Hamburger Abenblatt, where 49 Hamburg-based companies were evaluated by their apprentices.

"Our apprentices are our future and they are treated accordingly in our company," says Marc Dechmann, STILL's director of human resources development.

STILL was also included in a Top Employers in a 2012 study carried out by the Dutch-headquartered CRF (Corporate Research Foundation) Institute. The evaluating criteria included factors like compensation, benefits, career and development opportunities as well as corporate culture. The selected companies were referred to as "role models for professional career development".

According to STILL, its on-the-job trainees are seen as "colleagues" on par with other staff. Besides its internal trainee policy which ensures that trainees are treated fairly and trained comprehensively, STILL is also certified by the "Fair Company" seal. The initiative behind the seal originates from the Junge Karriere (Young Career) magazine, which aims to ensure fair working conditions on the trainee market. STILL supports the initiative and has voluntarily committed to its five rules, which are:

1) Permanent jobs are not replaced by trainees, voluntary workers or permanent stand-in employees;
2) Candidates with a university degree who apply for a permanent job are not offered a traineeship;
3) Trainees are not misled by vague promises of full-time employment;
4) Traineeships are predominantly offered to provide professional orientation during the vocational training phase; and
5) Trainees are paid adequate compensation.

According to STILL, the average period of employment with the company is 16 years.