Mercedes-Benz Korea said Tuesday that its fourth Ausbildung, a German vocational training program, began early this month.

The online kickoff ceremony held Monday was attended by around 70 people, including Kim Jee-seop, interim president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, Susanne Wohrle, vice president of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 18 newly selected trainees and 16 professional trainers.

The fourth Ausbildung, which began Sept. 1, involves 18 senior high school students who passed a document screening process as well as a written test and interview.

The trainees will complete a professional curriculum, which consists of job training in the field and academic education for the next three years. This year the program welcomed its first female trainee, showing the growth potential of female workers in the automobile maintenance industry, the automaker said.

Trainees will sign an official labor contract with Mercedes-Benz dealer companies and begin working at 16 authorized Mercedes-Benz service centers with stable salaries. They will also follow a curriculum co-developed by certified Mercedes-Benz professional trainers and university professors, which consists of on-the-job training and academic education at the university level. 

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)