Three exciting and politically topical special events – WoMenPower, TectoYou and the Job & Career Market – will ensure that HANNOVER MESSE 2012 (23 – 27 April 2012) continues to serve as an important international recruitment event. This year, several thousand international companies from various sectors will be represented in Hannover. For many, the prime aim is to showcase innovations and drive business, but the search for potential personnel and skills is another important reason for coming to Hannover. In view of the demographic changes that are impacting on the employment market HANNOVER MESSE delivered a timely and appropriate response when it launched the three special events WoMenPower, TectoYou and the Job & Career Market. In cooperation with several powerful partners, these events provide an adequate response to the shortage of skill personnel. Their initiative has borne fruit again this year – each of the three events has registered an increase in the number of companies taking part.

“The efforts HANNOVER MESSE put into promoting recruitment, career planning and services for graduates and next-generation personnel are quite unique on the international trade fair circuit. It is a service greatly valued by our exhibitors, and many of them have taken part in recent years in the numerous activities that we provide in this area. Naturally we intend to extend our activities geared to recruitment in the years ahead”, says Oliver Frese, Senior Vice-President of HANNOVER MESSE at Deutsche Messe AG.


TectoYou
TectoYou is an initiative for young people set up by HANNOVER MESSE. Taking place for the sixth time this year, it brings thousands of school students and school-leavers together with representatives from industry, professional associations and exhibiting companies. The patron of TectoYou is the German Minister for Education and Research, Professor Dr. Annette Schavan.

TectoYou is part of the world’s most important technology event. In this ideal environment, the tried-and-tested program of TectoYou helps to encourage young people to pursue technical careers. Several thousand students from schools and universities attend HANNOVER MESSE throughout the week to take advantage of talks and lectures and obtain a comprehensive overview of concrete opportunities and career prospects in industry. Guided tours offer a hands-on experience of technology as well as one-to-one contact with exhibitors and the opportunity to find out about the trade fair at close hand.

TectoYou is aimed at three target groups: school students from every level of school education about to complete their education and hoping to embark on a career; trainees and students in vocational training; and, thirdly, first-year university or technical college students. This young people’s initiative at HANNOVER MESSE is an important aid in helping these target groups make decisions about the focus of their studies.

All participants in TectoYou benefit from direct contact with exhibitors and the wealth of information on careers and training in industry that is provided and the resulting insights which influence their choice of career. Various themed guided tours are tailored to the interests and needs of the individual target groups.

TectoYou is a joint project of Deutsche Messe AG and the marketing initiative “Germany – Land of Ideas”. TectoYou partners include the Federation of German Industry (BDI), the German Electrical Engineering and Electronics Federation (ZVEI), the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) and the German Electrical Engineering Association (VDE), as well as companies such as HARTING, Phoenix Contact, Rittal and Siemens.


WoMenPower
The ninth WoMenPower conference held on the Friday of the trade fair targets both men and women and addresses the core themes of career planning, the practicalities of finding a balance between family and career, as well as the right work-life balance. The Congress tagline is appropriately “Working efficiently and living effectively – design your future”. More than 1,000 participants are expected to attend keynote talks, workshops, power presentations and panel discussions on such topics as starting and returning to careers, leadership and communication, moving up the career ladder and career opportunities at a time of pronounced demographic change.

The workshops cover a variety of themes: for instance, services and offers to help with job applications, the use of the social media by beginners and more experienced users, voice training to raise confidence during presentations or interviews, when negotiating salaries, etc. Other workshops will deal with aspects of labour law that should be observed when returning to work, steps that can be taken to reconcile family and career, leadership in an international business context and general success strategies for women in leading positions. The content and topics of the program have been steered by a Congress Board chaired by Prof. Barbara Schwarze, Professor in Gender and Diversity Studies at the Faculty of Engineering Sciences and Informatics at the University of Osnabruck.

Job & Career Market
Over the past few years the Job & Career Market at HANNOVER MESSE has evolved into an effective platform for jobs and as such is a springboard to promising careers. This is the place that specialist personnel and managers come to at the trade fair if they are looking for new career options. It also attracts those starting out on their career as well as HR decision-makers from numerous companies and providers of career development and training services. This year approx. 50 companies will be at the Job & Career Market, including Phoenix Contact, Rheinmetall, Weidmüller, BASF, Audi and ENERCON. The Job Market, which covers an area of approx. 5,000 square metres in Hall 6, showcases numerous services and information on recruitment. This year the Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs, Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, will be patron of the Job & Career Market – this is a first and certainly underlines the international significance of the Job & Career Market.