257 Medical technology from Tuttlingen – the Medical Technology Cluster Today, the Medical Technology Cluster extends far beyond the Tuttlingen area, and it is difficult to give a precise number of the companies that it covers. In the Tuttlingen area itself more than 400 companies are attributed to the cluster, and of these the overwhelming majority have fewer than 20 employees while the biggest employs around 3,600 people in Tuttlingen alone. Many of the companies in Tuttlingen pursue a long-term and sustainable growth strategy in a growing global market. In recent years – with the exception of 2009 – the number of people employed in the industry has increased steadily and a marked shortage of skilled labour has developed. As a result, companies in Tuttlingen were quick to consider the opportunities for securing a reliable supply of skilled staff for current and future generations and the companies based here now invest a great deal in training opportunities, with apprenticeship rates of 8 to 10 % which is no exception in the larger companies. The major and most recent step in the further development of the cluster was taken in 2009 with the establishment of the town’s own university campus, offering the engineering course, Industrial Medtec, alongside other degree courses. In 2018, the IFC Innovation and Research Center Tuttlingen of the Furtwangen University of Applied Sciences (HFU) – has been inaugurated. It strengthens and extends the HFU and thus the university campus as well as the Tuttlingen location by having a close research and innovation-oriented cooperation with the companies from the region.
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