A future without digitization has long been unthinkable, neither in private nor at work. We recognized this early on and focus on skills for the digitalized world of work in personnel development. We offer individual training and development opportunities, create jobs in growth areas and build up qualified personnel.
We also cover the topic of employee development in detail in our HR Factbook 2024.
Milestones achieved, ongoing projects and goals
We want to anticipate technological trends at an early stage and foster a culture of continuous learning. To this end, we are constantly creating new offers for our employees. Our goal is to support the transformation of skills, especially because digital expertise will be increasingly in demand in the coming years.
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Where we come from
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2014
The digital learning platform Magenta MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) is launching for the first time. In addition to the transfer of knowledge by video lecturers, the focus is primarily on virtual collaboration between participants in small teams.
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2019
to 2022With the “youlearn” initiative, we are developing Deutsche Telekom into a learning organization. At the same time, we are increasingly converting our training to digital learning.
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2020
By the end of 2020, we will be holding around 3,000 sessions as part of our employee initiative “Learning from Experts” (LEX).
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2020
For the first time, we determine the proportion of digital experts in our Group (excluding T‑Mobile US): It is 13.2 %. By 2024, we want to increase this figure to 17 % and are taking steps to create the necessary framework conditions for the acquisition of digital skills in our company.
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2021
We are increasingly offering so-called Explorer Journeys: These programs are intended to prepare as many employees as possible for future skill requirements in the areas of big data, digital marketing, artificial intelligence (AI) and software development.
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2023
66,000 employees are taking part in training courses on AI.
Where we stand in the reporting year
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2024
Our Explorer Journeys attract over 15,000 employees.
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2024
We focus on the practice-oriented use of AI and train 30,000 internal users on how to use AI effectively (prompting skills).
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2024
The proportion of digital experts among our employees (excluding T‑Mobile US) rises to 22.7 %. This means that we are significantly exceeding our original target of 17 % by 2024.
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2024
We are launching the Telekom Sustainability Campus: Web-based training courses are intended to familiarize our employees with challenges, tools and solutions in the field of sustainability.
Where we want to go
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2025
Prompting skills will be anchored as a standard competence for all employees. In this way, we want to increase the efficiency of our workflows, especially in functions such as HR and finance. We also train our digital transformation teams to make the most of internal AI tools.
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2027
We continue to prioritize the promotion of future-proof digital skills and further increase the share of digital experts to 25 to 30 %.
Our approach
We promote lifelong learning and accompany our employees on their individual learning path. To this end, we offer them tailor-made education and development programs. One component is the opportunity to study alongside your job: With “Bologna@Telekom”, we enable part-time Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs.
We are guided by the Group’s strategic goals and promote the acquisition of technical and digital skills in particular. Various programs help to expand our own candidate pool – including the Explorer Journeys: They equip employees with knowledge and skills, e.g., around artificial intelligence (AI), software development or digital marketing. In addition, we support young people in their career orientation and enable them to enter the world of work with a comprehensive range of technical and commercial training and dual study programs.
You can find out more about our measures to promote digital expertise in the
HR Factbook 2024Education@Telekom
… takes a look at the entire range of training and continuing education opportunities:
Approach training and development individually
We enable our employees to manage their further training largely themselves with the help of digital learning opportunities and to integrate it into their everyday working lives.
On our learning platform “Percipio”, our employees worldwide (with the exception of T‑Mobile US) can access educational offers anytime and anywhere via desktop or app, including training materials for online courses at university level.
In 2023, our focus was on creating a fundamental awareness and understanding of new tools and technologies, especially generative AI. In the reporting year, we shifted the focus to the practical empowerment of our employees. We focused on three areas: prompting, the application of AI tools, and the adaptation of local learning opportunities. Our employees tested their knowledge and thus empowered 30,000 users in the formulation of prompts. Initiatives such as Explorer Prompting, Explorer GenAI, DT Digital Promptathons, Train the Promptathon Trainers and targeted tool training have been instrumental in supporting this progress.
You can find out more about our learning culture in the
HR Factbook 2024Another example of self-determined and self-organized learning is our employee initiative “Learning from Experts” (LEX). Experts from the Group pass on their knowledge to their colleagues in various ways. In the reporting year, our experts conducted over 6,500 LEX sessions.
Progress 2024 a
93 % of the training courses bookable across the Group were available digitally.
Employees invested an average of 4.8 training days in their own training.
The proportion of digitally conducted qualification days was 68 %.
Identifying Needs and Expanding Skills: Skill management
We want to align our learning and development opportunities with the knowledge and skills of our employees. In doing so, we are pursuing the goal of becoming a “skill-based organization”. We can use an intelligent tool to identify skills gaps as part of our skill management and provide our employees with targeted training. We offer them suitable learning opportunities and show target profiles that they can achieve. Since 2023, we have been applying skill management throughout the Group and across divisions (Deutsche Telekom without T‑Mobile US). So far, around 50,000 employees have successfully completed the skill management process.
Since 2024, we have been introducing “growth hub”, a new AI-based platform, on a trial basis. It is intended to bundle central processes such as recruiting, skill management, talent management and resource management throughout the Group. By the end of 2025, we want to convert these processes to “growth hubs” as far as possible and thus offer our employees a central platform for their personal development.
Systems Solutions segment: “10,000 Future Skills by 2024”
Developing 10,000 urgently needed future skills – that was the goal of T‑Systems’ “10,000 Future Skills” initiative, which ran from 2022 to 2024. In doing so, we wanted to ensure that T‑Systems remains competitive in the long term and that employees can adapt to new market and customer requirements. Specially appointed skill managers steered and supported the development process and also ensured the participation of all managers and employees. Our efforts have paid off: Even before the end of 2024, we achieved the goal we had set ourselves and applied the skills we acquired directly in projects. In total, participating T‑Systems employees acquired 12,271 Future Skills from January 2022 to December 2024.
The project was also awarded the HR Excellence Award 2024 (Employee Development category) – the most important award for outstanding human resource management in the German-speaking world. The prize is awarded by a jury of around 50 HR professionals.
Training sustainability
In June 2024, the “Deutsche Telekom Sustainability Campus” launched web-based training courses on ESG (environmental, social, governance) aspects for our employees. In addition, our segments have their own continuing education programs on these topics, such as the “susTain program” from T‑Systems. A new learning opportunity in this context is called “Climate Fresk”: Since July 2024, ten trained moderators have been offering online workshops on climate change for all employees. The aim of this program is to provide employees with in-depth knowledge of our sustainable design principles. Sustainability issues are also an integral part of the onboarding process for new employees at T‑Systems: They learn about T‑Systems’ sustainability strategy and how they can get involved in the environment and society right from the start.
Developing talent and promoting individual careers
We always keep an eye on the increasing demand for qualified workers, especially IT and tech experts, and face the competition for the best talent. We conduct targeted recruiting for our apprenticeships and dual study places, internships, trainee programs or the entry of experts. Investing in our own junior staff is another pillar for securing skilled workers. In programs such as the “Junior Software Development Academy”, our employees can develop in new areas – e.g., by retraining customer advisors to become software developers.
You can find out more about careers at
Deutsche TelekomWe also promote the compatibility of career and private life. Further information can be found here in the CR report under Co-determination and employer attractiveness and under Corporate culture and inclusion.
Excursus: Cyber Security Professional training initiative
Experts in IT security are still rare on the German labor market. That is why we have been offering the two-and-a-half-year part-time IHK training to become a cyber security professional since 2014 and are continuously developing it further in order to take current and future IT security requirements into account. The topic of AI in IT security is included in all modules of the program. Our highlights:
- In 2024, the program entered its eleventh year with a total of 19 participants.
- In the reporting year, 14 participants successfully passed the certificate examinations to become cyber security professionals.
- At the end of 2024, we had a total of 114 certified graduates to date.
- 95 % of the graduates remained employed by Deutsche Telekom.
How we identify and develop talent
Our fundamental goal is to develop suitable talent for important positions in the Group. To do this, we connect talents and managers, ensure transparency in our talent pool and establish direct contact with potential managers.
We identify and empower talent according to our performance development approach “WeGrow”. To this end, we have developed four comparable criteria – our “4A”: Achievement, Ambition, Attitude and Ability. As part of “WeGrow”, we organize the “People Days” every year. This is where leadership teams meet to identify talent among their employees.
Magenta Exchange program with T‑Mobile US
In the spring of 2024, we conducted the first cross-company exchange program between Deutsche Telekom and T‑Mobile US: In the Magenta Exchange program, high-potential employees from both companies gained new insights into the business and culture of the other organization. A total of 15 talents took part in each.
Promoting experts and managers
Our program “levelUP! NextGeneration” is aimed at (future) executives as well as tech and digital experts. At the beginning of September 2024, around 1,100 participants from all segments and 22 countries started the predominantly virtual training on leadership and collaboration topics. The proportion of international talent increased compared to the previous year, from 30 % to 39 %.
In the global talent initiative “Global TalentHub”, we promote (prospective) managers. Up to 300 talents with potential for an executive role participate in the program. In the reporting year, we filled 25 % of our executive positions with “Global TalentHub” talents (excluding T‑Mobile US).
You can find out more about our development programs in the
HR Factbook 2024Systems Solutions segment: supporting managers in performance management
T‑Systems launched the “Unfolding Performance” initiative in Germany in 2023 to strengthen managers in performance management and promote employee development. To this end, the segment has created a comprehensive wiki for managers with practical instructions and necessary knowledge for effective collaboration with and support of team members. In “Enabling Leaders” events, managers get an overview of all of T‑Systems’ performance management measures.
Success rate so far:
- 88 % of the participants found the exchange with other managers helpful.
- 73 % have integrated the methods and tools discussed into their daily work.
United States segment: learning and career development
T‑Mobile US introduced various career initiatives and tools in the reporting year, including:
- Job Shadow and Stretch Assignment Toolkits: These programs help employees make new contacts and explore different roles and career paths at T‑Mobile US. Employees can gain practical experience in new roles and learn directly from peers in different parts of the business.
- Level Up Library: This library allows employees to optimize their skills in a targeted and individual way. The available learning materials are tailored to areas of expertise that are in high demand, including adaptability, change management, growth thinking, and innovation.
- Career Pathfinder: This dashboard allows employees to get detailed information about job descriptions, salary ranges, and open positions. It also shows typical career paths and helps to plan your next career steps.
- How We Lead: This leadership initiative pursues a values-based approach for unified action by all managers to develop self, lead teams with positive intention, and prioritize customers’ experience. It empowers managers to further develop the necessary skills to succeed in their positions.
Offers for the skilled workers of tomorrow
As one of the largest training companies in Germany, we support pupils, students and graduates in choosing a career and starting a career. In a career orientation internship, young people gain valuable insights into the everyday work of a telecommunications company, for example.
In 2024, we offered more than 1,800 apprenticeships in Germany, of which more than 1,200 were for vocational training and around 600 places for dual bachelor’s programs. In addition, we offered up to 20 young people the chance to familiarize themselves with the prospects of the digital world of work in the twelve-month orientation program “DiscoverMINT@telekom”.
Top graduates get to know how to get to know their skills as part of the individually configurable trainee program “Start up!” know various areas of the international group within 18 months and gain practical experience through challenging projects and customer-oriented assignments. In the reporting year, 59 new trainees started, 41 % of whom were women.
You can find out more about training and career entry in the
HR Factbook 2024Investments in our employees and future specialists: successes in 2024
We were able to fill 56 % of our open positions with internal candidates (2023: 51 %, 2022: 33 %; 2021: 51 %).
Strategic personnel restructuring and transfer management
The increasingly digitalized world of work is also accompanied by a complex personnel restructuring. We are creating new jobs in growth areas and building up qualified personnel for them. In other business areas, we are repositioning ourselves and reducing the number of employees. We have always designed all measures for staff restructuring to be socially responsible for our employees. To this end, we relied in particular on instruments such as committed retirement, partial retirement and severance payments in the reporting year.
You can find out more about staff restructuring and fluctuation in the
HR Factbook 2024Finding perspectives in close exchange
In Germany, we have a holistic personnel restructuring and transfer management system. The goal: to win over employees for career changes at an early stage. If tasks are eliminated in the short or medium term or other qualifications become necessary, we advise the affected employees in advance on the possibilities of professional reorientation. Together with the managers, internal and external employment alternatives are considered and personal labor market profiles are developed. In addition, we support individual application processes and offer qualifications where necessary.
Since 2018, we have advised around 3,200 employees in the Germany segment nationwide. Around 70 % of them were able to open up new options as a result.
Looking ahead
An important focus of our employee development is the continuous acquisition of digital skills. As the digital transformation progresses, we want to further expand the AI skills of all employees.
Deep Dive for experts
Management & Frameworks
Important foundations for the various training, further education and development measures are laid down in our Code of Human Rights and in our Guiding Principles. For many areas of Deutsche Telekom, concrete agreements have also been reached with the social partners and the works councils on the subject of further training.
a aExcluding T‑Mobile US.