With special offers for school pupils, students, and young professionals, K 2025, The World’s No. 1 Trade Fair for Plastics and Rubber, is focusing on the next generation of skilled workers. With the title “Young Talents,” numerous formats will be presented to offer guidance in choosing a career and provide insights into the diverse career paths available in the plastics industry. K will take place from October 8 – 15, 2025 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Guidance and exchange for young talent
The Young Talents initiative is aimed at young people who are interested in training or studying in the field of plastics and rubber technology. The industry offers attractive future prospects – from circular economy and climate protection to high-tech solutions in medicine and mobility. At K 2025, young people and students will receive information on training courses, study opportunities and career prospects.
A look behind the scenes – podcast on the plastics industry
A new offering has already been launched before the trade fair: in the podcast ‘A look behind the scenes – young talents in the plastics industry’, four trainees and students provide exciting insights into their everyday working lives. They talk about their experiences, challenges and opportunities and show how diverse and future-oriented the industry is. The four participants Jacob, Jacqueline, Johanna and Mathias will also conduct the Young Talents Tour at the trade fair.
Young Talents Tour
A highlight K 2025 will be the Young Talents Tour, during which the four young professionals will guide visitors through various stations on Sunday, October 12, and present their personal training and study paths. Stops on the tour will include the GKV’s Young Talents Lounge and the exhibition stands of the training companies themselves: Arburg, Erema, Covestro and SIMONA. Participation in the tour is free of charge and no advance registration is required. The tours will be conducted in German and will start at the gkv (Hall 8a / Stand F11-01).
Young Talents Lounge
At K 2025, the Gesamtverband Kunststoffverarbeitende Industrie (GKV) is sending a clear signal about training, study and career prospects in plastics processing. As the responsible sponsor of the official special format ‘Young Talents Lounge’, the association is focusing specifically on the topic of promoting young talent. Visitors can experience plastics processing interactively, for example with an obstacle course, VR applications or a mini injection molding machine. The association will also present innovative study programs and provide inspiration for promoting young talent. A special event will be the gathering of the winners of the Günter Schwank Prize as part of the ‘Club of the Best’. The award honors the best graduates in plastics technology each year.
Young talent in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering also offers young talent a platform at the trade fair: in the VDMA pavilion, which is part of ‘The Power of Plastics!’ Forum, trainees, students and young professionals will organize the daily ‘Young Talents Time’ (October 9 – 14 at 11:00 am daily). Here, ideas for the future of the plastics industry will be discussed. In addition, the VDMA also specifically promotes young women in mechanical engineering with initiatives such as EnSHEneer.
Career Sunday
At Plastics Europe Germany, K Sunday will be all about young talent. In the official special show ‘Plastics Shape the Future’, Plastics Europe offers a varied program that will address issues relating to training, recruiting and career opportunities. This will include a panel on recruiting skilled workers, various expert talks on topics such as ‘Recruiting by Gaming’ and ‘Recruiting by Diversity’, a recruiting stand-up and interactive formats such as ‘HR Bullshit Bingo’. A Science & Poetry Slam will round off the program.
Free admission for young people on October 12
The K Sunday will be all about young people, which is why school pupils, trainees and students can visit the trade fair free of charge on this day. Proof of eligibility (pupil or student ID card) is required: Information on tickets | K 2025.
For further information on visiting or exhibiting at K 2025, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: (312) 781-5180; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit www.k-online.com and www.mdna.com. Follow us on https://www.linkedin.com/company/mdnachicago/
For hotel and travel information, contact TTI Travel, Inc. at (866) 674-3476; Fax: (212) 674-3477; E-mail: info@ttitravel.net; www.ttitravel.net or the boking platform on the K website: https://www.k-online.com/en/Exhibit/Information/Hotel_CityInfos
About K in Düsseldorf:
The first staging of K was in 1952 by Messe Düsseldorf and is held in a 3-year cycle. The last K in 2022 registered 3,020 exhibitors from 59 countries on over 177,000 square meters of net exhibition space and 177,486 trade visitors, with 71% of the visitors coming from abroad. www.k-online.com.
