One of the tools for maintaining this commitment over time is training, to which we assign a strategic role for the professional growth of our workers and the cultural and organisational development of the company itself. We believe that only through the constant acquisition of new knowledge and expertise can we face up to the technological transformations in progress
Investing in the training of our employees also allows us to promote the innovation and creativity of our products and production processes. Finally, training represents a commitment to the society, the local region and the communities we meet. In 2022, 335 courses were held for a total of 8,000 hours of training provided to Marazzi employees, of which over 3,800 hours were dedicated to safety and the environment. These are huge numbers if we also take into consideration the 17,000+ hours of training for employees of the Mohawk Group’s ceramics companies around Europe, of which 8,300 were dedicated to safety and environmental topics.
We partner with local institutions and organisations to prepare the future generations for the world of work, offering internships and work experience in the company.
We also offer our employees and young people from the local area, as well as customers, young architects and designers, tailor-made training courses both in our own production sites and externally, through the Welcome to Ragno programme.
The Young T.I.L.E. project represents an investment in young people’s talent and creativity and bears testament to our commitment for sustainability and innovation in the sector. Every two years, 25 employees under the age of 30 from Mohawk’s sites in Italy, Spain, Poland and Bulgaria participate in an immersive, experience-based learning program which aims to provide participants with a broader knowledge of the company. Participants, split into working groups and led by a tutor, present a project on areas of particular interest for the company at the end of the course. The topics of the 2021-2022 edition were Strategic Technology, Digital Innovation and Sustainability.
Our commitment to the local community in which we work on a daily basis has taken concrete form with the Marazzi Academy, a project dedicated to the people who live in the local area to grow together and share culture and experience. Marazzi Academy aims to offer the future generations the tools to enter the world of work under the best possible terms. The project is reserved for unemployed high-school and university graduates resident in the Emilia-Romagna region, with the goal of providing professional skills which can be immediately put to use in the local area, and linked to the ceramics sector, such as data analytics and management technician or interior designers with expertise in ceramics.
The Marazzi Academy also incorporates the Academy Duale in partnership with the Istituto Tecnico Superiore Alessandro Volta secondary education institute in Sassuolo and the Adecco recruitment group; founded in 2019, its goal is to give local high-school students an introduction to the company and to train highly qualified young professionals.
The project involves both classroom and practical lessons for students in the fourth and fifth years of high school, alternating theory-based lessons with time in the field, where they can apply the knowledge they have acquired from the expert tutors. During the lessons, colleagues specialised in the ceramics process will share with the students the technical expertise, values and principles on which our work is based. Following the ninth edition in 2021-2022, nine out of 21 participants in the project were hired.
In 2021 Ragno put on two webinars entitled “Design Experiences” with magazine The Plan. During the events, director of The Plan Nicola Leonardi and four major Italian architectural practices compared notes on their own projects. The first saw the involvement of Spagnulo & Partners alongside Parisotto + Formenton Architetti, while the second featured Linea T Studio and Fortebis. Over 200 professionals participated in the online programme, which counts for course credit.
Inaugurated in 2010, the Pietro and Maria Marazzi Training Centre occupies an area of about 1.000 m2 within the Casiglie (Sassuolo, Modena) production location. It is a cutting-edge structure, complete with library and reading area, entirely dedicated to the development and continuing education of our employees, but also available to local associations and organisations such as the Red Cross, Cerform, Adecco and the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
The commitment to social sustainability, professional growth and initiatives for the safety and well-being of all of us have allowed us to become one of the Top Employer certified companies since 2017. The recognition is the final result of the analysis of the Top Employers Institute aimed at enhancing corporate excellence in the field of human resources. To be certified, the company must complete an assessment of practices through a questionnaire that is validated and evaluated. If the results, also in comparison with other companies in the sector, are positive, the company obtains the Top Employer certification together with an analysis of the score obtained in order to identify areas for further improvement.
