Employees

In the competition to recruit talent, ZEISS positions itself as an attractive employer. ZEISS benefits from its reputation as a global and innovative foundation-owned company with a strong focus on values that have been enshrined in the corporate culture.

Precision, innovation, and unparalleled quality can only be achieved with motivated and qualified employees. In light of demographic change and the increasing shortage of skilled workers, the diversity and equal opportunities championed at the company will prove to be key competitive advantages. ZEISS is proactively meeting the challenges with a global recruiting strategy – fully in line with the corporate strategy. The goal is to make the ZEISS Group even more customer-oriented, more competitive and more digital.

Training Employees

ZEISS invests continually in the recruiting, promotion and professional development of its employees, positioning itself as an attractive employer in the competition to gain talented individuals and countering the shortage of skilled workers. ZEISS also aspires to recruit many skilled workers and managers from its own ranks. This creates attractive opportunities for professional development and binds qualified, motivated employees to the company over the long term.

ZEISS offers plenty of training opportunities and works with various universities with cooperative education programs. Every year, young people begin a vocational training program or a cooperative study program at the German sites in Göttingen, Jena, Oberkochen and Wetzlar. The students are being trained in the fields of industrial mechanics, precision optics, mechatronics and industrial business management, or are completing a cooperative study program in business information systems, international business or data science. Both young and more seasoned professionals have the chance to take part in a host of development programs and international networking events.

Find out more about joining ZEISS here

Diversity and Equal Opportunities

With over 35,000 employees in almost 50 countries, diversity is part and parcel of everyday life at ZEISS. ZEISS is shaped by a diverse array of skills, ways of thinking, leadership and work styles, cultural backgrounds and lifestyles. This is a great advantage because diverse teams are more creative and solution-oriented, which helps them innovate. Diversity strengthens the company's ability to innovate and plays a key role in the implementation of the ZEISS company strategy.

Work-Life Balance

The opportunity to balance work and family life at different stages of one's personal life and career is a key part of how ZEISS supports its employees. The goal is to increase employee satisfaction and the company's appeal as an employer.

In addition to flexible models for working hours and place of work, ZEISS supports its employees with information and services relating to childcare, homeschooling, parental leave and caring for relatives.

Health and Safety

For ZEISS, guaranteeing a healthy work environment and a safe workplace are fundamental obligations toward its employees. This also applies to employees from non-ZEISS companies acting on behalf of ZEISS. ZEISS promotes its employees' health and performance through comprehensive safety measures and occupational health examinations.

ASML Cleanroon Assembly

Find out more about our activities

Digital Learning

To ensure that employees stay with the company and develop further in the future, ZEISS offers both in-person training sessions and innovative learning formats. Currently almost 900 in-person and online courses, as well as numerous e-books and audio books, are available on the ZEISS CurioZ learning platform. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ZEISS CurioZ helped the company convert some 40 percent of all in-person training sessions to virtual training courses and blended learning formats. Further, the range of relevant courses was expanded to include the topics of virtual collaboration and further qualification for employees working reduced hours, for example. To do this, ZEISS worked with an international training services provider. Employees were enthusiastic about signing up for the courses, which demonstrated their interest in developing their skills during the pandemic.

The 2021 award winners are three strong young informatics students who engage with social issues alongside their studies and have personalities that make them ideal role models (Houda El-Messari, Corina Hampel, Sarah-Lee Mendenhall, Drishti Maharjan© ZEISS).

A Plea for More Women in the Digital Sector

At ZEISS, diversity means being open to differences and promoting tolerance and equal opportunity. The advancement of women plays a central role in achieving diversity. Conferred for the 11th time in 2021, the Women's Awards are ZEISS' effort to focus on diverse career opportunities for women working in computer science.. The award was offered throughout Germany and serves as a platform to publicly recognize successful young women in the digital sector and to encourage more women to consider a career in the field.

The 2021 award winners are three strong young informatics students who engage with social issues alongside their studies and have personalities that make them ideal role models. Corina Hampel took first place. She studies informatics in the master's program at the University of Aalen and has specialized in IT security. 

Sustainability Report

Further information is available in the current Sustainability Report

Sustainability Contact Information

If you have any questions or comments on sustainability at ZEISS, please write to us at respons ibility @zeiss .com

General Contact Information

You can find general contact information here