Interview with our Apprentices

Written by Sebnem Sevimli & Benedikt Goerdt | January 20^th, 2022

This blog post is an interview with two of our apprentices here at innovaphone. We conducted the interview with one apprentice undergoing training to become an industrial clerk and one apprentice training to become an IT specialist. Our apprentices (our “Azubis”) talked about why they chose innovaphone, about the various departments they have gotten to know, general information on their apprenticeships, on dealing with remote working, their favorite spots at the office and much more.

We had 9 Questions for our Apprentices:

 Legend for the abbreviations:
ICA – industrial clerk apprentice
TA – technical apprentice for IT / computer science

1. What kind of apprenticeship are you completing here at innovaphone?

ICA: I am undergoing an apprenticeship to become an industrial clerk.

TA: I am training to become an IT specialist in the field of application development.

2. How did you stumble across innovaphone?

ICA: I went to the employment agency and asked which companies offer the training I wanted to undergo. Here, innovaphone was recommended to me.

TA: Once I was finished with vocational college, I was looking for an apprenticeship and found the suitable position at innovaphone.

3. Why did you decide for an apprenticeship here at innovaphone?

ICA: I quite liked the company spirit and the atmosphere right from the start, when I entered the office for the initial interview.

TA: I have always been interested in IT and wanted to complete an apprenticeship in this field. innovaphone appealed to me from the first interview.

4. What departments did you get to work in?

ICA: I am currently at the last department required for my apprenticeship, the marketing department. Before that, I trained at the warehouse, supply chain management, trainings, accounting and inside sales. These are the typical stations for all apprentices.

TA: I have already been to TechServ, the IT department and my last stop was DVL (development).

5. How did you experience remote work and remote classes for vocational school?

ICA: innovaphone provided everything I needed to work remotely from home, including cameras and headsets. A pre-installed program on Windows lets us access all programs and software that we need so we could continue without interruption. What was missing, however, were the chats with colleagues at the office.

Vocational school also took place in a digital form, in virtual rooms via Microsoft Teams. All required materials were provided online by the school.

TA: I did not work remotely all too often but when I did, everything worked very smoothly. I was always able to get in touch with colleagues when I had issues or questions. Vocational school was also in digital form but here I would have preferred classes to take place on site because for me, it would have been better to focus.

6. Was there anything that you missed? How did you experience communication?

ICA: I was well- equipped to work from home. Originally, I did not have a camera but the IT department provided one immediately and I still use it when working remotely from home. Communication took place via our platform and that worked very well. We used the platform for phone calls and virtual conferences.

TA: Technically, all you need is a laptop and a headset. With innovaphone myApps, we have everything we need when it comes to communication. We can make phone calls and write chat messages. 

7. What are the advantages of working from home?

ICA: What I really appreciate with remote working is the fact that you do not waste time on long commutes to and from the office. The time you save can go towards a nice stroll during lunch break. It is also good for the environment and reduces car rides.

TA: Under normal circumstances, I do prefer going to the office because I find the social contacts important. However, working remotely from home lets us protect each other and that is what matters.

8. What do you like at innovaphone?

ICA: I do appreciate the atmosphere and the friendly tone amongst colleagues. I get along very well with everybody and I can also contact colleagues from other departments when I need help. I think the flat hierarchies are to account for this. Personally, I also like the flexible working hours. If you want, you can go for a little walk during the lunch break and you are flexible with scheduling your work hours.

T: I like the transparency and candor of my colleagues. Everybody is very collegial and helpful. I am also very happy with the flexible working hours; they just give you a bit of freedom.

9. What’s your favorite spot here at the office?

ICA: I just love the rooftop terrace. Up there, you have a wonderful view over the city. Watching a sunset with this spectacular view is quite something.

TA: My favorite is definitely our private gym. I think it is great that you can work out and keep fit at work.

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