MAN Truck & Bus

Trainee programme

A group of young people sitting on a step chatting

In-depth insights as a trainee

Do you want to excel and develop, both personally and professionally? Do you want to get a taste of the corporate life with MAN and the international TRATON Group, and use your ideas to help to shape the projects of the future? We’ve got just what you’re looking for!

Our trainee programme gives you a 15-month opportunity to gain hands-on experience in an international environment. You will get a comprehensive insight into our different specialist departments and will also be able to spend time at a TRATON group site in another country. Our Global Trainee programme will provide you with the best possible start, but you design your personal journey through the company yourself. Launch your career with us and support our highly motivated team on the road to reshaping the commercial vehicle sector as a global player. Why not see for yourself?

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Your benefits

  • Flexibility
    You will work with your mentor and trainee manager to design your own personalised trainee modules yourself.
  • Network
    Bespoke training, network events and social evenings with our senior management.
  • Insights
    Get to know the company by working in a wide range of specialist departments, production, and sales.

What does a trainee at MAN actually do?

Would you like to know what the individual placements that a trainee undertakes actually entail? Would you like to know how you can structure your time at MAN? You’ll find the answers here.

1
Onboarding Week

Your trainee programme begins with an onboarding seminar and an orientation week in which all the trainees in our commercial vehicle brands take part. During this time, you will find out about and understand the overall strategy and direction of the TRATON Group and all its brands. You will also gain your first insight into the different areas of our company so that you can get off to a flying start right away.

2
Deployment in your home area

When you apply for an advertised post in one of our seven divisions, that determines your home area and the starting point for your exciting development in our company. This is where you will spend the first three months.

3
Specialist department rotation (2 x 3 months)

We would like to give you the most creative freedom we can for your own ideas, which is what makes every trainee’s path different. Which operational areas you will work in is something that you will arrange with your mentor. Because you will receive feedback after each placement, you will decide on your next steps according to your individual potential and strengths, building on these further in your next modules.

4
Foreign placement

You will be in an international, multi-brand environment here. That’s why our Global Trainee programme includes a foreign placement at one of the TRATON Group’s locations around the world. Depending on your project role, you will spend around 3 months on site with one of our other commercial vehicle brands. You will have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience abroad, strengthen your intercultural skills and build yourself a wide international network for your further career path within our company.

5
Specialist department rotation

We would like to give you the most creative freedom we can for your own ideas, which is what makes every trainee’s path different. Which operational areas you will work in is something that you will arrange with your mentor. Because you will receive feedback after each placement, you will decide on your next steps according to your individual potential and strengths, building on these further in your next modules.

6
Graduation Week

Graduation provides another opportunity to network and is a time to look back on the past and to look forward to the future. What will you take away from your personal trainee programme? Could you make full use of your potential and what would you like to achieve in your future position with us?

How the application process works

All applications are made via our online careers portal. Here you can apply directly for an advertised job.

The application process will start this year on 1 March 2024 with the advertisement of the positions. The application deadline for a specific trainee position is approximately four weeks after the vacancy is advertised.

For your application via our job board, we require a detailed CV including details of your main areas of study (max. 2 pages) - all information required for the position should be included. A letter of motivation is not necessary. In addition, the Abitur, Bachelor's and (provisional) Master's certificate, as well as relevant work references, e.g. for internships or working student activities.

All applications received online will be reviewed by our trainee support team and a shortlist will then be drawn up. The applicants favoured by the respective department will receive an invitation to our time-delayed video interview tool in mid-April, which can be conducted within a week. Following this interview, we invite a selection of candidates to a personal applicant day, at which the right trainee is then sought together with the relevant department. This year, the applicant days will take place between mid-May and the beginning of June.

Questions & Answers

Are you interested in our trainee programme, and would you like to find out more? We have compiled the most important questions and answers regarding starting work at MAN for you.

The focus of a trainee programme is on learning, together with personal and professional development. As a trainee, you will get an insight into a wide variety of areas within the company and will learn about the strategic orientation and priorities of the company. Further training and the creation of a personal network underpin both specialist expertise and individual performance. In contrast, with direct entry the focus is on rapid and in-depth familiarisation with a specific job.

The trainee programme is essentially offered in each of our seven divisions and can therefore be completed in each of these areas. Vacant trainee positions are dependent on the strategic direction of the company, which is why the areas offered may vary from year to year.

However, we want to give our trainees a comprehensive and in-depth insight into our company. Here, our trainees play an active role in shaping and customising the trainee programme. A trainee plan is drawn up with the mentor and trainee manager. Specific building blocks, such as the home area and work in production and sales are specified in this plan. Other postings within the trainee programme will be decided on together, to give the trainee the maximum creative freedom for their own ideas.

All trainees at MAN start on the starting salary for direct entrants within the framework of the IG Metall trade union tariff agreement. We will be happy to discuss the precise details of the trainee salary during the personal selection day.

Our trainees (currently) have a 35-hour employment contract. Because we value our employees’ personal freedom, our trainees also have the opportunity to arrange their working day flexibly as part of our Flexwork offer.

We choose the participants in the MAN trainee programme very carefully and we are keen to instil loyalty to our company in these motivated, talented people after their successful completion of the programme. That’s why we provide all our trainees with extensive expertise and helpful skills and tools during the programme. They also have the opportunity to build a broad network within the company. They are then as well-equipped as possible for their subsequent careers.

No, because we don’t think that suitability for the trainee programme depends on age.

We require a Master’s degree or diploma with above-average grades for our trainee programme. Applicants should also be able to provide evidence of at least 3 months’ experience in another country. Applicants should already have relevant practical experience, e.g. through work placements or working student activities. Non-academic commitments are also helpful and will be taken into account. Excellent knowledge of German and English is essential; other languages are advantageous.

Every trainee will receive the best possible support from a mentor from their home area. Mentors provide feedback and help with any problems that may arise, support with networking and show the trainees prospects and pathways. Our trainee management team are also available to all trainees.

The provision of feedback is an essential part of our programme. After each module of the programme, the trainee receives feedback and can discuss this with their mentor to identify potential and strengths, enabling them to build on these.

We value a close network for our trainees. Joint projects and activities, including social activities, strengthen team performance and team spirit. This network also includes former trainees, who can offer helpful tips and additional information. Networking with other TRATON Group commercial vehicle brand trainees is encouraged with regular online events.

Unfortunately, the residential market situation in Munich is such that we are unable to provide trainees with support to find accommodation. However, there are often options internally via the network of trainees and former trainees that may be helpful.

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Find the trainee position at MAN that suits you

We are advertising our trainee positions in the first quarter of each year. The application period for 2024 is already over. But you might find another position that fits your profile in our job portal.
To the MAN job portal