MY APPRENTICESHIP AT MAHLO
Industrial clerk Nina Merschel on her first days
Nina started her apprenticeship as an industrial clerk at the Mahlo GmbH in September 2017. She is in her first year of training at the moment and agreed to tell us about her first impressions at her workplace and at the vocational school.
Finding the job of your dreams!
I chose to become an industrial clerk because this profession has always appealed to me and because I found out I like working in an office due to an internship. In order to accomplish my goal, a good intermediate-level education was absolutely necessary. Besides having good grades in German and English, some knowledge of accounting is important. In addition to that, you value kindness and punctuality. But that is also true for every job.
The Beginning
I spent the first weeks of my apprenticeship in the HR department. Among other things, my tasks included checking and filing travelling costs or posting invoices. The trainees also undertake the substitute at our head office.
Of course, in the beginning arise some challenges, for example when the travel expense accountings are very complex. But also passing out our internal mail was not that easy because I didn’t know most of my colleagues’ names. However, that has changed pretty quickly. And otherwise you can always ask a colleague for help, no matter what the problem is.
“Normal” school vs. vocational school
Apart from the practical training at the company, the apprenticeship also includes the education at the vocational school in Kelheim. My class consists of 28 students, all future industrial clerks. Many of them are working in the purchase department or other typical areas like sales, ordering department, etc. That’s pretty varied.
Being at the vocational school is really different to being at a normal school. First of all, the days are longer and the subjects different. Furthermore, you have to be at your best game from the first day on. While in the past the first days of school after the holidays were pretty relaxed, here, classes start right away.
Dreams of the future
After my apprenticeship, I’d like to stay with Mahlo. But due to the fact that I am in my first year of training, I can’t really say which department I would like best. We just have to wait and see!