“I am very interested in technical jobs. And they also want people,” says Antonio. He is there with about 20 other students. Right now he’s watching Claus Schwenzer explaining his company’s packaging machine.
“I know roughly how it works, but I couldn’t use it,” he says. He’s just the boss, he says with a laugh. As a specialist in warehouse logistics, he could certainly do that. And they are also trained in his company. Mostly men apply for the vacancies. “But the work can just as well be done by women. I would be delighted if women would also apply for technical jobs,” says Schwenzer. A total of 41 companies are taking part in Mönchengladbach. The program is decentralized, the students can decide in advance which companies they want to go to. In the past two pandemic years, the check-in professional world has only taken place digitally. “Of course that was a dilemma, which in my opinion has also contributed to the fact that the number of training contracts has decreased,” says Jürgen Steinmetz, general manager of the IHK Mittlerer Niederrhein. The personal exchange is extremely important. After all, it was a decision that could affect the entire life of the students.
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Kira Burhenne (18) has already made a decision. She wants to start an apprenticeship as an industrial clerk at Effertz in August. After an internship of several weeks, the decision was made. “The exciting thing here is that everyone works together. In other words, administration, logistics and assembly,” says Burhenne. Today she advises the students of the Realschule an der Niers and the Espenstraße comprehensive school.
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“If at the end of the day you know just a little bit more about what you want to do later, the day was worth it,” says Schwenzer at the end of his welcome. Antonio asks how Effertz gates are fireproof. Maybe he’ll learn that one day. If he returns – as an apprentice.
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