Eleni has recently finished her apprenticeship by having successfully passed her examination. Two and a half years ago, she started her Business Administration apprenticeship at atrify. We are very happy for Eleni and glad that she remains at atrify as a regular full-time employee in her new role as Analyst Corporate Business Development, reporting to Martin Gliesche. We wanted to make sure to take this opportunity to look back onto her apprenticeship together with Eleni and have her describe the experiences she made at atrify in the past years in more detail.
Congratulations on passing your final examination, Eleni! Could you give us some more details about your personal experiences during your apprenticeship at atrify?
Eleni Stavridou (ES): I had consistently good experiences during my apprenticeship. On the one hand, my colleagues were always very open, and I always felt well integrated in every department. From day one I was involved in the day-to-day business and had the feeling that my activities always added value to the department. The knowledge from the different departments helped me a lot during my apprenticeship. For example, in Professional Services it helped me to have been in Support before. In Administration, I got to know the Salesforce CRM system. This knowledge helped me in many areas, as the system is relevant for different departments. I have also gotten to know myself and my working methods better during the apprenticeship and now I know where my strengths and weaknesses are. A big highlight from the last years was our trip to Chicago where we worked at our former American branch office.
What did you like best about your apprenticeship?
ES: What I liked the best is, that I was able to gain insights into almost every department and thus better understood the entire company. The interaction between the different departments was very interesting for me. Over time, I became aware of where the interfaces and commonalities are. During my apprenticeship I learned about different work approaches in the company which enabled me to identify the methods that work best for me for my daily work.
How was your apprenticeship structured?
ES: I got the apprenticeship plan from my trainer Corinna. It was structured in such a way that no apprentices overlapped in the departments. I had various periods of work in the various administrative departments. Because our controlling department is rather small, we were offered a three-day workshop in which we were given general information about controlling at atrify. In the second year of my apprenticeship I also supported the accounting department at GS1. For example, I learned how travel expenses, invoices and fuel receipts are processed there.
How did you like the school that you received your vocational training at?
ES: The subjects were divided into office processes, business processes, management and control, communication, politics and POM (Professional Office Management). In the second part of the apprenticeship we were prepared for the exam. When I decided to reduce the duration of the apprenticeship, I got help from the teachers, and was for example provided with trial exams. To prepare for the exam I also took part in a preparation course, which was subsidized by atrify.
What did the final exam consist of?
ES: My final exam consisted of two parts. The first part of the exam was in spring. The second part was at the end of November and focused on customer relations, customer communication and management and control. I had the oral exam at the end of January. You can choose between two variants for the final exam. You either get a written assignment and present it to the examiners, or you choose a practical project in the company. I decided to go for the second variant.
Did you feel sufficiently mentored by the company during your apprenticeship?
ES: Absolutely! My trainer Corinna has always supported me. At the end of each work period the head of the department I spent the past months at also filled out a feedback form and evaluated me. These results were then discussed together, and I also had the opportunity to contribute my own feedback. Fortunately, my evaluation was always very positive, which was in any case mutual.
Is there anyone in the company who has given you extra support?
ES: That was my trainer Corinna. But also, my current supervisor Martin supported me during the final exams. Both helped me with the preparation of the reports and made suggestions for improvement. Corinna and Martin also very much supported the process of me remaining at atrify after completing my apprenticeship. I am very grateful for that!
