SEAT is again in 2017 one of the best companies to work for in Spain. For the third year in a row, the company has received the Top Employer certificate, which since 1991 has been evaluating companies worldwide which offer the best working conditions. The recognition of SEAT as one of the best companies to work for in Spain consolidates the company’s commitment to the personal and professional development of its workers and to ensuring them an excellent working environment. SEAT is the only car manufacturer in Spain that holds this accreditation.
The Top Employer certificate confirms the corporate strategy of employee development and training, as well as the various talent recruitment and retention programmes and the social benefits policy. SEAT is the largest employer in the industry in Spain, creating over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs. The company’s workforce includes more than 14,000 employees. The company invests each year 14 millions euros in training, 4.5 times more than the average in Spain per employee, and also features a comprehensive social benefits policy, including flexible working hours which 35% of the workforce benefits from.
SEAT Vice-president for Human Resources Xavier Ros appreciated receiving once again the Top Employer accreditation, which “recognises our efforts in creating an excellent working environment which enables our workers to grow personally and professionally. In addition, this recognition also has an impact on attracting future talent, as it identifies SEAT as one of the most attractive companies to work for”, explained Xavier Ros.
Actions that make SEAT a Top Employer
SEAT’s commitment to its workers’ training and development, as well as to attracting and retaining talent, encourages the company to implement various policies aimed at the workforce. One of the major groups includes the millennials, who account for around 24% of all employees. The company recently promoted a collaborative digital workshop, based on Facebook and involving young employees up to 27 years of age, to identify opportunities for improvement in the areas of culture and leadership, development and learning, compensation and performance and work methods.
SEAT has developed a benchmark training model in Spain through its Apprentice School, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. More than 2,600 students have been trained in this centre of excellence, which has adapted to the changes and developments in vocational training programmes by incorporating pioneering systems such as Dual Vocational Training, inspired by the German model, which was implemented in 2012.
Healthy company
Also aimed at creating the best possible working environment for its workers, ensuring the physical and mental health of its teams and promoting healthy lifestyles, SEAT has invested 3 million euros in a new Health Care and Rehabilitation Centre (CARS), which is located inside the Martorell facilities. The centre, which is scheduled to open this April, aims to provide workers with the latest advances in preventive, healthcare and rehabilitative medicine. It will feature 25 professionals specialising in orthopaedics, radiology and cardiology, and among other innovations will provide the company’s more than 3,000 female employees, 21% of the workforce, with with preventive treatments related to women’s health.
In addition, SEAT is the only company in the automotive sector to receive the AENOR Healthy Company certificate. This model, which is based on criteria by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and on the continuous improvement method, certifies that the company has successfully implemented a management system which encourages and protects workers’ health, safety and well-being in the workplace.
SEAT is the largest employer in the sector and one of the largest in the country. For each direct job created by SEAT, a total of 7 jobs are created in Spain. In the last four years, the company’s workforce has increased by an average of 102 employees per year, and in a labour context of high youth unemployment, 53% of SEAT employees in 2015 were under the age of 30.
