"Think outside the box every now and then"

Birgit, Team Leader for Job Training, Germany Region HR

How did you come to join Schnellecke?

“I started my apprenticeship as a business management assistant for freight forwarding at Schnellecke on 01 August 1982. At this time the company headquarters were still at the freight depot in Wolfsburg. We were about 50 employees then, in other words a small team.

After my apprenticeship was completed in 1985, I was offered a contract and then worked in Truck Scheduling. It was my desire to work in this rather turbulent part of the company, first as a Scheduler and then later as the Scheduling Manager from 1992 to 1998.”

Then you changed to another division …

“Yes, my son was born in 1998 and it was my wish to work part-time. This was not possible in Scheduling at that time, but the HR Development department was being set up and I was given the responsibility for the strategic setup and support of the Job Training Department. I did my so-called training supervisor qualification in 1987, and qualified as a logistics specialist in 1989. That is how I then transferred from operations to the HR department. I am still responsible here for the Job Training department as the Team Leader.”

What exactly is your job?

“We see ourselves as a service provider within the organization and are tasked with providing qualified junior staff and supporting young professionals during their job training or apprenticeship. My job includes the recruitment and selection process, participation in vocational training fairs, the vocational orientation of students, the control of various processes from staff assignments, to training and development discussions, seminars, coordination of technical matters with our training officers, networking meetings, cooperation opportunities for youths who are disadvantaged in the marketplace, coordination with the vocational schools, and tasks as an examiner on the IHK (Chamber of Industry and Commerce) board of examiners and in the education committee of the IHK Lüneburg-Wolfsburg. It’s a broad area of responsibility. 

It is our wish that our apprentices think outside the box every now and then in order to strengthen their expertise and soft skills. Keep their eyes and ears open, offer support, even be ready to “jump in at the deep end”. During my apprenticeship I learned that the money is not earned in the “office” but primarily in our operational divisions Logistics and Transport. Learning by doing, to approach and do things practically, is important. While always taking the strategic procedures and goals into consideration.”

What is so special about Schnellecke?

“I am very much a family person, and I immediately enjoyed working at Schnellecke. Our senior bosses Mrs. Margarite Schnellecke and Prof. Schnellecke were always very close to us as the team. They always had an open ear for us. Due to our current size, this is certainly no longer possible to that extent. However, the contact to our owner family, to the management board members and managers is characterized by closeness. It is a team-oriented togetherness. This team, this solidarity, this diversity that I had already experienced as an apprentice have influenced me and allow me to say that, after 35 years of employment at the company, the large majority of my working life has made me very happy and that I look forward to future tasks. If you enjoy movement, organization, planning, if you are flexible and you like communicating with other people – also from different cultures – then working for Schnellecke is simply the best.”