08.10.2024

“Day in practice”: Trial run for future trainees

Eighth-graders get to know everyday working life at Dreiling Maschinenbau GmbH over a set period of time.

A good one in three drop out of training. In order to reduce this rate as much as possible, there is “Day in Practice” (DiP), a joint initiative of the Erfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the North Thuringia District Craftsmen’s Association, the North Thuringia Employment Agency and the North Thuringia State Education Authority. Pupils work once a week over a set period in various companies and craft businesses in the region and get to know their operational processes in a practical way. Dreiling Maschinenbau GmbH is one of more than 850 companies in northern Thuringia that are taking part in the project and would like to recruit young talent in this way.

Initially, a total of nine eighth-graders from the Lorenz-Kellner state secondary school Heiligenstadtand the Johann Wolf state secondary school Dingelstädt

will each spend one day a week for five weeks gaining an initial insight into mechanical engineering in Geisleden.

Tehy will get to know several departments at once: assembly, production (machining) and electrical engineering. They are supported by experienced specialists who explain and show the trainees everything. “The students first have to understand how our processes work and how the machines are built,” says Franziska Dreiling, who is responsible for human resources at the company. In addition, the trainees will take on age- and performance-related tasks.

Thanks to the DiP project, the pupils are given the opportunity to get a taste of different professional fields. Within a year, they get to know four different professions and four different companies. This strengthens their career choice skills, shows them the career prospects in the region and gives them a realistic insight into their dream job. This should help to reduce the number of young people dropping out of training later on. An additional learning effect: the young people apply to the participating companies for the DiP “just like in real life” and also go through a selection process there.

“We hope that the project will be a good start to working life for the students,” says Franziska Dreiling. And who knows: “Maybe we can win them over and they will later start an apprenticeship with us as a cutting machine operator, precision mechanic, mechatronics engineer or electronics technician for automation technology.”