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From professional truck drivers, to chemistry lab technicians and industrial management assistants, all the way through to metalworkers – REMONDIS is the place to go to for anyone looking to do a technical or commercial apprenticeship. 607 young people travelled to the company during this year’s ‘Lünen Apprenticeship Evening’ where, as always, they were able to enjoy a comprehensive and breathtaking programme of events: using VR headsets to take a walk around REMONDIS' scrap metal facility in Duisburg; driving a truck simulator; or trying out the assessment test that applicants have to take for the industrial management assistant course. There was a whole range of things for the visitors to discover at the different stands set up at REMONDIS’ head office.
Snacks and drinks were on hand for those wishing to take a break and listen to the interviews held with the company’s current apprentices. Throughout the evening, presenter Christian Müller-Espey talked to a number of apprentices, asking them about their work at REMONDIS, their application to the company and their apprenticeship course. The all-in package included a bus shuttle service, with a bus leaving the centre of Lünen to take the visitors to the plant every ten minutes. “As always, the shuttle service proved to be really popular. Practically all the buses were full despite the cold and windy weather,” commented apprenticeship manager, Kristina Rehahn, who was really pleased with the way the evening went.
The bus tracking system used during the Apprenticeship Evening was developed by the REMONDIS Group’s own IT apprentices.
The buses were tracked online by none other than REMONDIS IT Services or RITS. It, too, presented its apprenticeship courses for young people wishing to become IT specialists either in the area of applications development or systems integration. Used for the first time a few years ago, this tracking system has been steadily developed and improved with everything running smoothly and a three-figure number of passengers achieved for the very first time. “There were certainly more people interested in IT jobs this year,” said Jannik Gensicke. “Our bus tracking system was a hit as it is every year – there are always loads of questions about the software,” he added.
A new experience for many of the young visitors: sitting behind the wheel of a lorry
The IT department looks for a number of skills in its applicants (such as strong logical and communication skills and the ability to work in a team) and prefers them to have good grades in Maths, German and English. Ideally, they already have some practical experience of working in the area of IT. “Once an applicant has convinced us of their strengths, they are then given their own individual schedule detailing when they get to work in which departments. Our apprentices spend time in all of our departments and are given their own project tasks very early on in their course,” explained Sarah Lierz, apprenticeship manager at REMONDIS IT Services. This includes the service desk, the network and security departments, programming and business intelligence.
Paul Gellissen, who is currently training to become an IT specialist, believes this is a huge advantage: “We get to take on our very own tasks as soon as the short induction phase is over and so the job is never boring. This is one of the things that I really like about my apprenticeship as well as the friendly atmosphere and the flexitime.” The apprenticeships at RITS very much focus on the practical side of the job. “The majority of the course is practical work – college classes make up just 20% of the apprenticeship. We believe this is really important. At the end of the day, it’s all about their work in the company,” stressed Sarah Lierz.
Once an apprentice has completed their practical three-year course, they then join one of the teams. RITS is also more than happy for them to take part in a further training course or to study part time at university. “Normally, it’s just a matter of talking to your line manager,” Paul Gellissen said. Every year, RITS takes on four new apprentices, training two of them to become an applications developer and two to become a systems integration specialist. At the moment, there are a total of twelve apprentices working towards their goal of becoming an IT specialist.
REMONDIS presented its wide range of apprenticeships: from chemistry lab technicians, to professional truck drivers, all the way through to firefighters