Growing and learning together
Do you want to apply your knowledge and skills in a leading automotive industry company? We are looking for young, talented employees to contribute their expertise to our enterprise. Let’s grow and learn together. At the ZKW Group, you have the opportunity to enter the professional world through internships, or complete your Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. with our support.
You’re invited to take a peek behind the curtain.
Ulrika Mücke
Human Resources Management
Students, students and interested people pay attention.
At ZKW Group, you have the opportunity to enter internships in the professional world or to complete your Bachelor, Diploma or Master’s thesis with our support.
Challenging duties are waiting for YOU
We offer you the opportunity to obtain deep insight into work processes at an innovative and forward-thinking industry leader in the automotive industry through a professional internship. You will take on responsibility and duties, and work independently at your own work station. We give you the space to discover your commitment, your ambition, and your personal initiative. Challenging duties are waiting for you, and you’ll need excellent communication skills and a team spirit to handle them.
We generally offer trainee positions in all technical areas, most of which can serve as a jumping off point for a career with our company later on.
Application and current jobs
You can find current available internships in our job portal You are also welcome to send us a speculative application with a cover letter, CV, and references.
The future of the industry in your hands?
At ZKW, we’re very interested in your suggested topics for your thesis, and we’re also happy to work with you to find forward-thinking and practical topics. You will be assigned a personal advisor while writing your Bachelor’s, Master’s, or Ph.D. thesis with us, and you will be integrated into company processes through your internship.
We want your final thesis to help shape the future of our industry. That’s why we want to grow and perform alongside you.
Application and current jobs
You can find current available internships in our job portal You are also welcome to send us a speculative application with a cover letter, CV, and references.
Connected to research and training
Collaboration with schools, vocational colleges, and universities plays an important role in ZKW HR. These are just some of the services we offer:
- Company tours for high school and university students
- Holiday and professional internships
- Company presentations
- Support in writing Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral theses
Company shuttle
Cooperation with the IAESTE student organization, which comes to ZKW headquarters for a company visit each year with students from technical universities (TU Wien, JKU Linz). Students receive intensive insight into research and & development as well as production.
ZKW cooperates with the following educational institutions:
Universities
- Johannes Kepler Universität Linz
- Montanuniversität Leoben
- Technische Universität Wien
Vocational colleges
- FH Steyr
- FH Technikum Wien
- FH Wels
- FH Wiener Neustadt
Secondary schools
- HTL St. Pölten
- HTL Steyr
- HTL Waidhofen/Ybbs
Insight for high school and university students
Choosing a career, and the company where you want to do your training and possibly work later on – these are the kinds of decisions that lay the groundwork for personal success.
To help young people make these decisions, ZKW offers excursions for secondary school classes and university student groups. Participants get to know the company, its employees, and their everyday work during company tours.
Target audiences
- General secondary school (above 3rd class)
- Classes from polytechnical schools in Wieselburg and Wr. Neustadt
- Classes from technical vocational schools and higher technical institutions
- Student groups from vocational schools and universities with a technical focus
When are excursions available: year-round, with advance registration
How long do company tours last: around three hours
Application and current jobs
You can find current available internships in our job portal You are also welcome to send us a speculative application with a cover letter, CV, and references.
Explore careers and earn money
Are you a secondary school or university student who wants to earn money over the summer or complete a required internship?
ZKW offers you the opportunity to do so in a variety of departments. You can start a position with us in commercial or technical areas or in production – from July to September.
Application
- When? Beginning of September – end of February
- How? Applications only accepted online
- What? Application should include a cover letter, CV, and most recent grades
Trainees are our future!
Thomas Kamleitner
Human Resources Management
Apprenticeship
We develop and produce lighting and headlight systems as well as electronic components for automotive manufacturers all over the world. We focus on front lighting for premium segment vehicles – in addition, we produce fog lights, daytime driving light modules, front lights, and small products light blinkers, entryway, license plate, and various interior lights.
As an OEM supplier, ZKW works closely with development centers in the automotive industry so we can continue offering our customers innovative, customized products like halogen, xenon, or LED headlights.
First Wieselburg, then the world
Our motivated, qualified employees work successfully – concentrating on the lighting technology of the future. Many of them learned their trade at ZKW, and prove their abilities with us day by day.
We promote young professionals today so we can give them major responsibilities tomorrow – that’s our motto. Anyone who trains at ZKW will have qualified trainers at their side, receiving systematic support and advising right from the start. This is how we transmit learning content based on students’ individual needs.
We provide most training at our main plant in Wieselburg. Even there, trainees take part in complex and diverse processes throughout the broad and diverse company. Once they have their diplomas in hand, the whole world of ZKW is open to them – both in Austria and around the globe.
Training professions
Good employees are in demand
A passion for technology, a strong team spirit, and successful experiences – trainees can find all this and much more at ZKW. Curious? Then learn more about the occupational training we offer in both technical and non-technical fields here.
Basic information on training at ZKW
We offer training at two locations – in the company and in our vocational school. Trainees spend around 80 percent of their time in the company, and the rest of their time is spent on theoretical and practical training in our vocational school. Training at ZKW takes three to four years, depending on the chosen profession.
Dual profession
Electrical engineering and metals technology
Apprenticeship period
Four years
Vocational school
Amstetten
Requirements
- Pleasure in the technical work
- good technical understanding
- Logic
- accuracy
- good spatial understanding
Training content
- Set up, maintain, and repair building technology and systems, as well as electronic equipment, devices, and machines
- Find and correct errors and faults in systems, electrical equipment, devices, and machines
- Set up, restore, and document protective measures to safeguard against personal injury and property damage
- Expand and optimize electrical installations in factory buildings
- Manufacture relevant components and workpieces in consideration of specified fit standards
- Complete CAD sketches
- Operate and program computer-supported CNC tooling machines
- Select, purchase, and inspect materials
- Manufacture, assemble, attach, and mount components, machines, and equipment – including in conjunction with hydraulic, mechanical, and pneumatic systems
- Record and document technical data on work processes and results
- Work in consideration of relevant norms, environmental and quality standards, and safety regulations
Work areas and duties
While training in the dual profession of electrical / systems and operating technology and metals technician / mechanical engineer, trainees will learn how to manufacture machine parts and how to assemble, commission, maintain, and repair machines and systems. They will produce and maintain specialized machines to manufacture headlight systems, as well as other machinery. Trainees in the dual profession also have numerous organizational duties. They determine work steps, work materials, and working methods based on technical documents and blueprints, and plan and control work processes.
In addition, they mount, install, maintain, and repair electrical systems, machines, and devices such as injection molding machines. Trainees rebuild electrical systems and expand them as needed. They service electrical machines used in company operations and maintain electrical equipment. Trainees in the dual profession are responsible for electrical and electronic work on company systems. This work relates to generators, distributor systems, and electric drives.
In order to work on such diverse technical equipment, trainees must be able to read and prepare switching and wiring diagrams and other technical drafts. In case of errors, they systematically look for causes and complete repairs.
Industrial clerk
Apprenticeship period
Three years
Vocational school
Waldegg
Requirements
- accurate working
- teamwork
- interested in
commercial activities - independence
Training content
- Understanding company and commercial work processes
- Administrative work and correspondence
- Obtain and process offers and orders
- Basic skills in corporate accounting in the areas of finances, calculations, payroll accounting, and bookkeeping
- Understanding the company’s overall organizational structure
- Understanding duties and responsibilities in the different areas of the company
Work areas and duties
Industrial clerks complete office, administrative, and organizational duties in industrial companies in all economic sectors. They work, for instance, in purchasing, materials management, accounting, the HR area, sales, or marketing. Industrial clerks working in purchasing provide the raw, auxiliary, and operating materials needed for industrial production processes. Industrial clerks working in sales process customer orders and customer inquiries.
In the warehouse, industrial clerks control incoming and outgoing goods and materials, issue warehouse receipt slips, and maintain inventory lists and card files, usually with IT supported applications. Industrial clerks working in HR calculate wages and salaries for employees working at the company.
Plastics engineer
Apprenticeship period
four years
Vocational school
Steyr
Requirements
- Interest in technology and automation
- analytic capability of thinking
- logic
- technical understanding
Training content
- Understanding company and commercial work processes
- Administrative work and correspondence
- Obtain and process offers and orders
- Basic skills in corporate accounting in the areas of finances, calculations, payroll accounting, and bookkeeping
- Understanding the company’s overall organizational structure
- Understanding duties and responsibilities in the different areas of the company
Work areas and duties
Industrial clerks complete office, administrative, and organizational duties in industrial companies in all economic sectors. They work, for instance, in purchasing, materials management, accounting, the HR area, sales, or marketing. Industrial clerks working in purchasing provide the raw, auxiliary, and operating materials needed for industrial production processes. Industrial clerks working in sales process customer orders and customer inquiries.
In the warehouse, industrial clerks control incoming and outgoing goods and materials, issue warehouse receipt slips, and maintain inventory lists and card files, usually with IT supported applications. Industrial clerks working in HR calculate wages and salaries for employees working at the company.
Metal technician / tooling technician
Apprenticeship period
Three years
Vocational school
Neunkirchen
Requirements
- technical understanding
- quick grasp
- accuracy
Training content
- Machine mechanical parts, assemble mechanical assemblies and components
- Create and change production programs for computer-supported (CNC) machines
- Product, inspect, operate, and maintain cutting, stamping, and molding tools
- Read and apply technical documentation
- Determine work steps, materials, and methods
Work areas and duties
Tooling technicians manufacture cutting tools, stamping tools, and molding tools for processing machines, as well as the equipment used to attach the tools and work pieces. This also includes maintaining and repairing these tools. They machine metal with techniques like measuring, marking, filing, grinding, sawing, drilling, grating, chiseling, thread cutting, riveting, aligning, bending, and polishing. In addition, they handle gluing, soft and hard soldering, rasping, and producing simple springs.
Other techniques applied by tooling technicians include longitudinal turning and face cutting, milling, eroding, and electric welding. Tooling technicians produce fittings and relevant work pieces in consideration of prescribed fitting standards. They apply fine finishing techniques to do so.
In maintaining and repairing tooling machines and tools, tooling technicians systematically look for errors and faults, then limit these, and finally correct them. Tooling technicians read plans and production drawings, or produce them themselves. They also create and modify production programs for computer-supported CNC tooling machines.
Engineering draftsman
Apprenticeship period
Three and one half years
Vocational school
Neunkirchen
Requirements
- accuracy
- orderliness
- thoroughness
- creativity
- technical understanding
Training content
- Knowledge of materials and auxiliary materials used, their properties, and processing
- Design work, primarily on IT supported systems (CAD system like CATIA)
- Create production drawings (tolerances, fits, surface properties, material information, heat treatment information)
- Understanding of basic standardization principles
Work areas and duties
Engineering draftsmen produce technical drawings, create final artwork, and correct, duplicate, and store drawings. Technical drawings include, for instance, drawings of molds and metal items, detailed and assembly drawings of motors and machines. Engineering draftsmen serve as a link between the designer and the workshops. They produce a detailed drawing which is formulated down to the last detail, exact, and standardized. It is used to manufacture an object based on the data and draft on the technical object specified by designers.
In many cases, drawings are no longer completed manually for series production – instead, CAD systems (computer aided design) are used. Engineering draftsmen input the required information such as dimensions, angles, etc. into a computer and obtain the finished artwork, which is automatically produced by an electronic drawing device (plotter) based on the data entered.
Metal technology / machining technician
Apprenticeship period
Three and one half years
Vocational school
Neunkirchen
Requirements
- technischal understanding
- quick grasp
- accuracy
Training content
- Set up, commissioning, and operating tooling machines and production systems for machining
- Producing and processing simple and complex components on conventional and (CNC) tooling machines
- Read and apply technical documentation
- Knowledge on composite materials, their properties, processing options, finishing options, and usage options
Work areas and duties
Machining technicians produce simple and complex components on conventional and (CNC) tooling machines through turning, milling, drilling, countersinking, grating, thread cutting, and grinding. Their duties also include processing components using the techniques indicated above. In addition, they learn specific occupational skills related to heat treatment and hardness testing processes, and are experts in adhesive and press-fit connections.
In maintaining and repairing tooling machines, machining technicians systematically look for errors and faults, then limit these, and finally correct them. Machining technicians read plans and production drawings, or produce them themselves. They also create and modify production programs for computer-supported CNC tooling machines.
Metal technology / mechanical engineer
Apprenticeship period
Three and one half years
Vocational school
Amstetten
Requirements
- technical understanding
- spatial imagination
- accurate and solution-oriented work
Training content
- Operate maintain, and rebuild machines
- Read, apply, and create sketches and drawings
- Produce separable (i.e. screws) and non-separable (i.e. welding) connections
- Work in accordance with safety and environmental regulations
- Produce various components and shaft connections
- Program and operate CNC tooling machines
- English – for everyday and professional use
- Expertise and help in work planning and work preparations
- Knowledge on working and auxiliary materials, as well as their properties and processing options
Work areas and duties
The duties of a metal technician / mechanical engineer include producing, maintaining, and repairing machines and equipment. They assemble hydraulic, pneumatic, and mechanical machine components, and measure and inspect such components (i.e. slide rule). In addition, purchasing and recognizing necessary materials are also part of their duties.
Information technology (with focus on industrial engineering and systems engineering)
Apprenticeship period
Four years
Vocational school
Pöchlarn
Apprenticeship with Matura (qualification for university entrance)
Training with added value
We place a high premium on the personal and professional development of our trainees – that’s why we support them in both areas to the best of our abilities. One option we offer is training with a Matura certificate – this allows us to promote the interaction between practical and theoretical knowledge. Trainees who choose this path will receive the best possible qualification.
Combining training with a Matura allows our trainees to learn their dream professions while earning money – and all without sacrificing their chance to obtain a certificate qualifying them for the university. With diploma in hand, they’ll have access to any course of study – while greatly improving their opportunities of landing a career at ZKW.
Here`s how it works
We offer training with Matura from the second year of training; ambitious trainees can complete the Berufsreifeprüfung – professional readiness test – during their training period. They receive instruction in German, English, Math, and a specialty area – at ZKW, and primarily during working hours.
We would be happy to tell you all the details of our training with Matura option in a personal meeting.
Further contents
ZKW for you
ZKW offerings for our employees; our social benefits and the way we work at ZKW.
Competence Training Center
Anyone who expects extraordinary performance needs extraordinarily well qualified employees – people who enjoy taking on a high level of responsibility and want to continue learning throughout their lives.
The application process at ZKW
We cannot do the application for you. But we will explain to you what you are looking for in the application process for a position at the ZKW Group.
Careers abroad
We speak a lot of languages at the ZKW Group. The world’s fastest-growing company in the automotive industry offers its employees a wide range of opportunities to make a career abroad – from lower Austria to Mexico or Manchuria.