Siemens 2008 Annual Report Download - page 17

At a glance – Our employees 11
Education – The key to success
Only well-educated, highly motivated employees can create the innovations needed to answer the
toughest questions of our time. In a globalized world marked by rapid technological change and
steadily increasing ows of information, education is not only a key to personal success; it’s also
the basis of our innovative strength. We’ve always been intensely committed to the training and
education of our employees. In scal 2008, we invested €280 million in continuing education
alone. In addition, we’re also supporting selected education projects for young people – from pre-
school to university level – through our worldwide Generation21 program. For more information,
see: www.siemens.com/generation21
New hires
In scal 2008, our global workforce grew a solid seven percent. Worldwide, we hired around
74,600 new employees. Some 60 percent are employed in important elds like supply chain man-
agement and development, and a quarter of these individuals are university graduates.
Exceptional qualications, combined with impressive diversity, are equipping our workforce to
excel. Our 427,000 employees around the world made vital contributions to our success in scal
2008 – another reason why People Excellence is a key pillar of our Company-wide Fit42010 pro-
gram (see page 80).
Employees by region Age distribution by region
Regions < 35 35 – 44 45 – 54 > 54
Europe, C.I.S., Africa
Germany
29%
24%
31%
32%
29%
32%
11%
12%
Americas
U.S.
29%
21%
29%
29%
28%
32%
14%
18%
Asia, Australia,
Middle East
China
64%
74%
24%
20%
9%
5%
3%
1%
Siemens 35% 29% 25% 11%
Europe, C.I.S., Africa 59%
Germany 31%
Americas 23%
U.S. 16%
Asia, Australia,
Middle East 18%
China 8%
Further information is available at: www.siemens.com/career