Taster apprenticeship: a noseful of working air
Step 4: The taster apprenticeship
A taster apprenticeship is a wonderful opportunity to experience a profession, try it out and feel the atmosphere in the company. It is the ultimate reality check for young apprenticeship seekers.
The taster apprenticeship is often a turning point in choosing a career. At last, ideas, brochures and internet videos become real impressions; at last you can experience for yourself what it means to work as a car mechanic, care specialist or interactive media designer.
«This is it, this is where I want to work,» Noël Stoffel thought as he entered the bicycle mechanics shop for the first time, where he later began his apprenticeship. Almost all apprentices have decided on a profession during a work placement, and often also on the company where they will do their apprenticeship.
8 tips for the taster apprenticeship
- Before you start the taster programme: Write down what you want to find out about the job.
- Not all questions will be answered at work. Ask questions.
- Write down your impressions every evening. What did you like, what didn't you like? Can you imagine spending two, three or four years in this company?
- Be yourself. This is the only way your superiors will get to know you.
- Are you shy? Then you have no choice but to get over yourself.
- Everything done? Ask for further tasks or for work that you can observe.
- At the end of the taster programme: Ask for a written assessment of your performance.
- A trial apprenticeship that did not go well is not a misfortune. Write down what was not good, what you can improve and what needs to be different in the company so that you feel comfortable.
«The taster apprenticeship is the ultimate reality check,» says careers counsellor Sigrid Weber. The fact that the days in the company can sometimes be unpleasant, that the work is not fun or that you realise that you had imagined the job to be completely different is all part of it. In fact, finding out what you don't want is crucial to making the right career choice.
There are three different types of taster apprenticeships:
- During a taster visit, usually lasting one day, young people want to gain a first impression of a profession.
- The career taster programme can last two to five days and offers an in-depth insight into professional reality.
- During the taster apprenticeship, the company managers and their taster pen want to find out whether they are a good match.
It is advisable to make it clear from the outset where you stand in your career choice. However, even after a successful taster apprenticeship, it is permissible to reject the apprenticeship contract offered.
Trial apprenticeships are also important for training companies. They make a selection based on the application dossiers. However, training companies usually only decide who they trust to do the apprenticeship and offer a contract to based on the impression the candidate has made during the taster session in the workshop, shop or clinic.
«During the taster apprenticeship, we see how a person deals with patients, how they cope in a new situation with an unfamiliar team, how resilient they are - exactly the things that are important in everyday training afterwards,» says Stephan Nabholz, Head of Vocational Training at the University Hospital Zurich.
A taster please! A look at working life also helps you to see what you don't want.
At Susobike, where Noël Stoffel is doing his apprenticeship, trial apprentices have to solve a series of practical tasks, such as repairing a flat tyre, but also answer knowledge questions or solve arithmetic problems. «The most important thing for us is to see how the apprentice works. We would never hire someone based on their school grades, as more and more people are doing,» says Ines Untersander, head of the Susobike sales team.
For the majority of companies, a successful taster apprenticeship is a prerequisite for being offered an apprenticeship. Many training companies therefore want a detailed application even for this brief insight. In return, many also provide a well-founded taster certificate at the end. Suso Untersander, owner of Susobike, sits down with each young person at the end of the trial apprenticeship and discusses what went well and what still needs to be worked on.
Find your own path in seven steps
- Step 1: Get to know your own interests and strengths
How everyday habits and dreams can serve as a guide to self-assessment for young people. A questionnaire for career selectors. - Step 2: Get to know professions and training programmes
An overview of the most important educational programmes, professions of the future, where the shortage of apprentices and skilled workers is greatest and which career paths lead via a university. - Step 3: Compare your own strengths with the requirements of professions and training programmes
Comparing your own skills with the requirements of professions, how people with disabilities can find their way into the desired working environment and what role performance tests play. - Step 4: Get to know interesting professions in a taster apprenticeship
The career choice internship is the reality check: what forms of taster apprenticeships there are and what young people need to know about taster apprenticeships. - Step 5: Review possible professions and training programmes and make a decision
To what extent starting a career is an important step in personal development, why the training company must be as good a fit as the profession - and how young professionals compete for titles. - Step 6: Look for an apprenticeship or register with a school
What is important when looking for an apprenticeship, how to make a good impression at an interview and ten tips for a convincing application portfolio. - Step 7: Prepare for the apprenticeship or school or clarify bridging programmes
Once you have decided what you want to do after compulsory schooling, it is important to find out more and prepare for it - otherwise there are a number of useful bridging programmes.
At the university hospital, the written assessment form remains in the HR department. «As it's a question of whether the person gets the apprenticeship or not after the taster apprenticeship application, we call all candidates personally,» says Stephan Nabholz. «In the positive case, a longer interview follows. If the decision is negative, the young person is often disappointed and not very receptive at the moment. We then offer them the opportunity to call us later if they want to know more about our assessment.»
It makes sense for young people to keep a diary during each taster apprenticeship in which they write down their impressions every day: what they liked, what was difficult or unpleasant. This helps them to realise which professional environment they want to spend the next few years in. The diaries and assessments from previous taster apprenticeships can also be helpful when it comes to making a good impression and recommending yourself for an apprenticeship during the application taster apprenticeship.
