20. januar 2025
4 Minutes
Arineo Messestand Berufsparcours 2024

From peer-to-peer or on the road at trainee fairs

What? You don't know Arineo? Training fairs are the ideal place to learn about various companies and their training courses. In addition to our trainers, our trainees are also present at these trade fairs. The age difference between them and the pupils is still relatively small, so they are ideal contacts for them. At our Butzbach office, our trainee Tim Engels helped organize and conduct various trade fairs. We wanted to know about the experiences he gained from this.

How did you get involved in this role?

Tim: During our training, every trainee participates as trade fair staff at least once. I decided to take part in trade fairs at our Butzbach office. I am based in Göttingen, so I was excited to work in Butzbach and meet my colleagues there.

How did you like the office, and what did you prepare for the trade fairs?

Tim: The atmosphere at the Butzbach office is just as relaxed and friendly as in Göttingen. I received a very warm welcome. At Arineo, trade fair coordination is a team effort between colleagues from marketing, human resources, and the trainees. Together with a colleague, I set up the necessary laptops in advance to provide the students with a clear understanding of our work.

Which trade fairs did you attend?

Tim: We attended the IHK trade fair in Friedberg and the Butzbach careers exploration event. These are very different formats. While Friedberg is a traditional trade fair, the careers exploration event is designed for 8th and 9th-grade pupils to explore as many professions as possible using short, practical examples. We worked with mini-computers and laptops, allowing pupils to write their first programs.

That sounds interesting. What exactly is a careers exploration event?

Tim: The Butzbach careers exploration event takes place in a large auditorium. As already mentioned, the goal is for pupils to learn about as many professions as possible. Companies from the region come to the school and set up their stations on the designated stands.
The range of professions is diverse, from bricklaying and nursing to IT, like us. At our station, pupils could write small programs using the prepared laptops.

How much time did the pupils have to complete the tasks?

Tim: Each group only had 10 minutes, so it had to be done quickly. As soon as a group of pupils arrived at our station, there was a short introduction to the task. We wanted to provide an initial and simple insight into programming activities. We connected mini-computers to the laptops and prepared tasks for the pupils. They had to program LEDs to light up in the shape of a heart. Interested students could then take it further, programming the devices to play sounds.

How did you experience the careers exploration day?

Tim: It was a fun challenge. I sometimes felt like a teacher as groups came to our stations at short intervals throughout the day, with only brief breaks in between. It was tiring, but I really enjoyed introducing the kids to programming, helping them, and supporting them with their tasks.

How did the children like the event?

Tim: Some very interested pupils listened attentively and asked many questions, while others weren’t interested in IT. Nevertheless, the pupils’ positive feedback and behavior assured us that we had given a good insight into programming. We also talked to some of the children, and some of them expressed an interest in doing an internship with us.

What is your takeaway, and what was it like at the trade fair in Friedberg?

Tim: All in all, I’d say it was a tangible success in raising awareness in the region and sparking interest in IT careers among young people. Our participation at the Friedberg fair was similarly successful, even though the format was completely different from Butzbach. In Friedberg, we had a traditional fair booth in the town hall, and the students were typically closer to finishing school. They actively approached us at the booth, and we shared a lot of information about our company and our training opportunities. This day was also very varied as we engaged with people of different ages. I think we were very successful here, as several job applications were submitted afterward.

Photo: Adrian Hitsch and Tim Engels

Further insights from the trade fair

Does an apprenticeship at Arineo sound interesting to you?

Then send us your application. We are looking forward to getting to know you.