HZB wins HR Energy Award 2025 for recruitment campaign
Heiko Kreth (left) and Daniela Hoffmann-Hofmann (right) from HZB received the award on behalf of HZB.
The Helmholtz Centre Berlin (HZB) is breaking new ground in attracting talented young people to IT training. HZB was presented with this year's HR Energy Award for its "Go for IT! Recruitainment for IT training" campaign. Gamification elements make the application process more attractive and fairer for young people.
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin was presented with the HR Energy Award during the 20th Energy HR Forum on 6 November in Dresden. Since 2018, this award has been presented to forward-looking projects and concepts for new working environments in the energy, gas and water industries in the German-speaking economic region (D-A-CH region). According to the organisers, the award stands for pioneering spirit in human resources and the courage to break new ground. It also honours people in companies who are actively shaping change.
Breaking new ground in recruiting was an important concern for Heiko Kreth, a long-time trainer for IT specialists and initiator of the "Go for IT!" campaign at HZB. "In IT, trainees are desperately sought after. That's why we have developed a new selection process that combines recruiting and entertainment. It helps us to address young people in a way that is tailored to the target group and to better assess their skills," says Heiko Kreth.
In the selection process developed by Kreth and his team, all interested individuals are invited to an application day at HZB – an event complete with red carpet, gaming and catering. After a short test, the applicants get to play games together. Experienced trainers and HR specialists observe the young people's teamwork skills and behaviour. Applicants then receive immediate feedback – and, ideally, confirmation of a training place.
"I am delighted to receive this award. It is the first recruitment award for the Helmholtz Centre Berlin. It impressively demonstrates that creative people work at our centre – not only in science, but also in administration, IT and all other areas that are trying out new ways of recruiting young talent and are successful in doing so," says Saskia Vormfelde, Commercial Director at HZB.
About the HR Energy Award
HZB is one of the three winners of the HR Energy Award 2025. The award recognises innovative and sustainable approaches in corporate, leadership and HR culture. Previous winners include enviaM, Bayernwerk, GASAG and DB Energie. The award evaluates the degree of innovation, efficiency, creativity, impact on employee satisfaction, as well as inclusion, diversity and sustainability.
Go for IT! - Recrutainment for IT training
"Don't be afraid of job interviews: using gaming for training": Interview with Heiko Kreth and Juliane Schad about their experiences with the new recruiting format – and why gamification can make application processes more attractive and fairer for young people.
- A Story of Baking a CrystalOnce upon a time, I was a kid who loved doing home experiments and unravel the explanation behind everyday phenomena. This passion and curiosity helped me to land up here in Berlin to work on the growth of crystalline materials at the wonderful campus of Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin. But unlike many other stories, mine starts with an introductory question: What makes growing crystals fun and also challenging?
- The Art of the UnknownThe first major challenge was facing my own initial lack of knowledge. Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by entirely new protocols: what can be touched with gloves, what is strictly glove-free, and how to safely move items through the space. As I did not fully know how new equipment operates, getting startled when something goes off-routine is inevitable.
- Special prize by Jugend Forscht awarded to former school internShaoxuan Wang has won a special prize in the Jugend Forscht competition for her project ‘Smart Capsules – intelligent microcapsules for glucose-dependent insulin release’. She designed the project as a “special achievement” for her A-levels. To carry out the experimental work, Shaoxuan was able to spend a further two weeks in the laboratory at the HZB Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage, where she had completed a school internship two years earlier.