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As the BfR would like to increase the number of employ-
ees with a migration background among trainees as well,
job announcements for apprenticeships are also sent to
various clubs and associations who systematically ad-
dress people with this kind of background. In addition,
the announcements are also sent out to schools in the
surrounding area, helping to raise the profile of the BfR
as a local employer.
Furthermore, the BfR gave roughly 166 pupils and stu-
dents an insight into day-to-day routine at the institute
through internships; we also supervised dissertations
and looked after ten external PhD candidates and two
junior lawyers within the scope of their legal preparatory
service.
Personnel development
To ensure that the many different tasks of the institute
can be performed in the best possible quality, the con-
tinuous further training of the workforce is an essential
factor at the BfR. 319 external further training measures
were approved in 2013, including 52 courses within the
framework of training for specialised toxicologists at the
German Society for Experimental and Clinical Pharma-
cology and Toxicology. Moreover, the BfR designed and
staged 13 in-house courses on specialised and meth-
odological subjects.
Personnel development activities in 2013 focused on
management development and language training. Build-
ing on the requirement profile for management personnel
at the BfR, a programme was created for the systematic
development of executive-level employees, incorporating
not only deputising functions but also the different
experience levels of management personnel. In ad-
dition, multi-week English courses were staged for
employees with different levels of profi-
ciency, and there was also a course
on “Presenting in English”.
Compatibility of family and career
The BfR was awarded the “audit berufundfamilie” cer-
tificate in 2009, and the certificate was confirmed in a
re-audit in 2012. With the promotion of the compatibil-
ity of family and career, the BfR is pursuing the goal of
bonding employees more strongly to the institute and
gaining a higher profile in the competition for qualified
personnel. The measures taken to promote compatibility
in recent years include extensive expansion of flexible
working hours, the creation of guest offices and parent-
child rooms, and the introduction of alternating telework.
When it comes to the compatibility of family and working
life, the emphasis is increasingly also on employees who
provide care for family members, and the personnel unit
is therefore devoting more time and resources to this is-
sue. In 2013, for example, the BfR prepared a position
paper on the German Family Care Leave Act, voicing its
support for employees who wish to take advantage of
care leave arrangements.
In 2013, there was also a workshop on the evaluation
of telework at the BfR. All employees who were taking
advantage of the alternating telework concept at the
time were invited to attend. Following this evaluation
workshop, a plan was drawn up to further improve the
telework conditions at the BfR.
About the BfR
