Disclosure 404-1 Average hours of training per year per employee

In 2017, 9,720 employees took part in Clariant training courses, attending a total of 192,435 hours of training (19.8 training hours per employee). Offerings of the Clariant Academy programs included the so-called leadership trainings and sales competencies with communication and presentation skills, while local offerings comprised trainings with emphasis mainly on language courses. Employees also attended courses in environment, safety, and health (ESH). Other trainings also cover topics such as technical courses and product-related trainings

Disclosure 404-2 Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs

The People Excellence program seeks to instill in Clariant's employees the corporate values and professional habits and thus establish a new attitude and mind-set throughout the Group – one that fosters openness and trust and creates a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship. Within the program, special emphasis is laid on training management-level employees to effectively communicate, impart, and exemplify these values. By establishing a culture of high performance that will further strengthen the Group's position in all its diverse areas of sustainable value creation, Clariant aims to prepare the company for the uncertainties of the globalized labor market just as much as for any other future challenge.

The training at the academy takes place within a modularly configured program, which accurately reflects the operating procedures. The training measures take place in the categories of basic training, equipment, and procedural training: It all starts with the basic training, which is completed mostly on a theoretical level. This is followed by the plant training where Clariant’s employees are already schooled on the new equipment. The in-services conclude with the process training where the employees deal specifically with all processes, which could be of any significance for them in their daily jobs.

Disclosure 404-3 Percentage of employees receiving regular performance and career development reviews

One of the aims of the »360-degree feedback process« and the annual »performance dialog« is to identify the ongoing development potential of employees and agree on appropriate development goals. The performance-management process comprised about 900 people in the highest five management levels (ML) by the end of 2017, which corresponds to approximately 5 % of the total work force, as well as about 9,400 people in the downstream levels (46 % of the employees). This corresponds to a percentage share of 51 % of all employees. Over the next few years, the process will be applied to the majority of employees of lower levels.

The internal talent-management process on a local, regional, and global level is an important means for the systematic development of the employees and for the needs-based design of new training programs. During talent reviews, strengths and development areas of key personnel are systematically identified and individual development plans drawn up. The continuous training of employees within the framework of the internal talent management process ensures well-functioning succession planning for important positions within the company.