01/10/2025|Company
Bildungscampus Böllhoff officially opened
On 30 September 2025, our new training and further education centre in Bielefeld was officially inaugurated.
Insights into our major investment in the future of training and further education
Together with around 90 guests, we celebrated the official opening of the Bildungscampus Böllhoff (Böllhoff Education Campus) at the end of September. The invited guests from local politics, schools and universities as well as from partner companies, gained deep insights into the state-of-the-art training and further education centre – and, in addition to that, into training and further education at Böllhoff in general.
The all-new Bildungscampus Böllhoff: Education – Encounter – Enthusiasm
The Bildungscampus Böllhoff in Bielefeld is the new heart of training and further education at Böllhoff. As a hub for apprentices, students, employees, and external partners, this training and further education centre offers cutting-edge technology, collaborative learning formats, and space for interaction – across a total area of around 1,600 m².
This is where curiosity meets technology and practical experience. The goal is to learn, network and drive innovation in a sustainable and practical way. All under the official motto of the education campus: ‘E³: Education – Encounter – Enthusiasm’. A total of around 5 million euros has been spent on this future-oriented investment for training and further education at Böllhoff’s Bielefeld site.
»"We purposefully invest in training and further education – it's the foundation of our long-term success. And we believe in people and their courage to learn new things. The Bildungscampus is our promise: this is where the future is created – together, down-to-earth and with heart."
A new home for tomorrow’s training and further education, for encounters and collaboration
Our nearly 100 apprentices throughout Germany benefit from the new Bildungscampus Böllhoff, as do another 100 apprentices from partner companies. The campus provides them all with ideal learning conditions so that they can successfully take their first steps on their career path. The Bildungscampus will also be home to a wide range of further education formats for our students and employees in the future. In addition, it will offer plenty of space for encounters, exchange and collaboration, both within the company and in the context of cooperations with schools and universities in the region. The modern premises of the Bildungscampus combine technical training workshops and modularly equipped exchange and training rooms under one roof. A smart factory laboratory for networking and robotics – including an industrial robot for experimentation – meets an innovation lab for collaborative work and creative prototyping workshops. Open spaces promote dialogue and exchange and enable synergies.
A special highlight: from 2026, apprentices will be able to work in an “apprentice company”, just like in an internal start-up. Here, the young people can take on real projects with responsibility throughout the entire cycle – from quotation and material procurement to the production of the respective parts and their dispatch.
In addition, the Bildungscampus also provides the ideal setting for events. Whether it's future-oriented AI and digital summits, collaborative events with schools and universities, or local start-up meetings, the campus facilitates encounters – and thus also networking and innovation.
»"Encounters and creative exchange are the ideal basis for learning. With our Bildungscampus, we will therefore focus even more than before on joint projects and exchanging information. Between apprentices in all disciplines, students and employees – but also with partner companies, start-ups and educational institutions."
»"Our Bildungscampus should feel like a place where people simply enjoy learning and trying new things. With real projects and modern technology, we bring the future into the everyday lives of our apprentices."
The opening evening on 30 September 2025 - a multifaceted programme of lectures and insights behind the scenes
How do you inaugurate a building that will form the centre of training and further education at Böllhoff in Germany in future? Naturally, by looking ahead to the future of training and further education – both within the company itself and in the East Westphalia-Lippe region. To this end, a wide-ranging programme of presentations was held on the opening evening.
After welcoming speeches by Dr Friedrich Hubert Esser from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BiBB) and Petra Pigerl-Radtke, Managing Director of the East Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the keynote speech focused on the ‘future of education’. Prof. Dr Ingo Ballschmieter from Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSBI) showed how schools, universities and companies must respond to changing learning habits in the digital age: with new hybrid learning models.
This was followed by a panel discussion focusing on ‘Opportunities and challenges for education in our region’. A panel of experts discussed this topic, the panel itself consisting of Ute Horstkötter-Starke, Managing Director of Vocational Training at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Prof. Dr Reinhold Decker, Rector's Representative for Cooperation with Industry at Bielefeld University, and Claudia Hoppe, Headmistress of the Rosenhöhe Comprehensive School. The corporate perspective of Böllhoff was provided by Wilhelm A. Böllhoff, Managing Partner, and Stefanie Kuhlmann, Team Leader Learning & Development.
The joint conclusion: Training and further education are more important today than ever before to attract, inspire and retain well-trained employees, even in times of demographic change and a shortage of skilled workers. This makes it even more crucial for educational institutions and industry to work closely together in developing the skilled workers of tomorrow. As is the case in the new training and further education centre Bildungscampus Böllhoff.
After the presentations, all guests had the opportunity to explore the Bildungscampus for themselves. Various guided tours provided them with detailed insights and allowed them to take a look behind the scenes.
How the Bildungscampus Böllhoff took shape
Construction work on the Bildungscampus Böllhoff began in the third and fourth quarters of 2023 with initial demolition work at the Bielefeld site. The large-scale project was completed in spring 2025.
At the end of May 2025, the Bildungscampus was handed over to apprentices, students, employees and the campus team during an internal opening ceremony. The official opening on 30 September 2025 was the crowning finale – and marks the start of the future of training and further education at Böllhoff.
