A transition stage at the SEAT Apprentice School is beginning next  week and the new school year is going to kick off with a completely new course content. Students enrolled in the current program will be taking Advanced Degree studies, which  will be taught like the former Intermediate Degree course using the Dual Vocational Training System which is inspired by the German model. But in addition, there will be more subjects focused on, among other concepts, Industry 4.0 and technology linked to digitalization.   This means that the syllabus is going to increase from 2,000 to almost 5,000 hours during the three-year course (twice as many as the average number in Spanish education cycles), equally divided between classroom studies and practical work. The teaching programs have been widened and adapted to the needs of the automotive industry.   60 students have enrolled in the inaugural Advanced Degree course, 30 in the specialty of Advanced Industrial Mechatronics and the other 30 in the specialties of Advanced Industrial Automation and Robotics and Production Programming in mechanical manufacturing. The number of applications received during the registration period to study at the School was six times higher than the number of slots, proving the success of this centre where in the past 60 years a total of 4,200 students have registered. There are 160 students in the 2018-2019 course who are going to study their specialties as well as latest technologies, languages (English and German), programming or project management.   According to SEAT Vice-president for Human Resources Xavier Ros “the level of teaching at the School and the requirements of Industry 4.0 have encouraged us to switch to Advanced Degree education cycles. The students’ educational standards are so high that in the past year alone they won several prizes and awards at competitions, and independently developed truly innovative projects. We can assert that these students are ready to move forward together with SEAT and tackle the challenges posed by digitalization in the industry.”   SEAT welcomes new School graduates as full-time employees The Apprentice School offers a paid apprenticeship contract lasting three years. Subsequently, all the students who successfully complete their third year become part of the SEAT workforce. A fundamental requirement is that they pass all three years, a guarantee for the company that only the best will be a part of the brand. This summer a total of 52 graduates joined SEAT, and they are currently working in the Press, Metal, Paint and Assembly workshops in the Martorell factory as well as in the SEAT Barcelona and SEAT Components facilities.