Same old, same old – day in and day out, right? Wrong! During their training our commercial apprentices spend time in each of the administrative departments to give them a firm grasp of the various areas of activity within an industrial company. Once familiar with all the departments, you will specialize in one area – in accordance with your interests and capabilities. As an industrial clerk, you will independently manage business processes in materials management, sales, marketing, human resources, or finance and accounting.
Training period: 2.5 years
School-leaving qualification: high school diploma (“Mittlere Reife”) or university-entrance qualification (“Abitur”) or vocational baccalaureate diploma (“Fachabitur”)
You will need: a precise, methodical approach to your work, good language skills, and an interest in computers
You will work in the following departments during your apprenticeship:
Purchasing
This is where the goods and services are procured that the company needs to manufacture our products.
As an apprentice in this department, you will primarily work with suppliers and will learn:
You will also carry out online research for new suppliers or articles.
As an apprentice in purchasing, you will also have sole responsibility for office supplies!
Sales
In sales, everything revolves around the customer – by e-mail, by phone, or by clarifying the customer’s requirements with your colleagues at ODU.
You will learn how to create quotations and process purchase orders. You will take care of allocating mail to the worldwide sales organizations.
After a few weeks in sales, you will be able to complete these initial tasks “with your eyes closed” – and will therefore be able to devote your full attention to understanding the relevant processes, one by one.
Human Resources (HR)
The HR department takes care of all ODU employees.
During your apprenticeship you will assist your colleagues with daily time recording and will
You will add new employees in the system and compile the required documents..
You will learn how to handle personnel files, employment contracts, references, job applications, and payslips/salary statements.
Financial accounting
The accounting department is responsible for both our incoming payments and outgoing payment obligations.
Process management
This department deals with production-related planning and control. People, machines, and materials must be scheduled at the right time and in the right quantities to ensure that our production processes are as efficient as possible. The relocation of goods to our production subsidiaries in Romania and Shanghai is also managed from here.
As an apprentice, you will gradually become familiar with these complex processes and will have the chance to work in different areas. Once per week, you will distribute key performance indicators throughout the company that include productivity data for the respective teams.
Marketing
In the marketing department, you can look forward to a range of exciting tasks that will let you both demonstrate and develop your creative side. Step by step, you will help the team in the following areas:
After your training, you will independently process incoming requests for catalogs and promotional materials. For example, this may involve creating new images for our ODU Facebook content or writing a text on a specific topic. You can look forward to creative tasks that will promote and challenge your independence.
Internships throughout the company
During your internship you will get to know all the other departments at ODU, such as shipping, the lab and the tool shop. Each day you will be assigned to a different department, where you will become familiar with the employees and their daily tasks. An internship is the perfect way to get an overview of the workings of an industrial company.
Staatliche Berufsschule II Mühldorf am Inn
Innstraße 41
84453 Mühldorf am Inn
Dual study program:
Vocational school hours: 7:55 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. The vocational school is easily accessible by public transportation such as the train and/or bus. Your lessons there will be precisely tailored to your training occupation. In both your vocational and general education subjects, you will study topics that will help you – and which you will encounter again – during your apprenticeship. You will thus be optimally prepared for the final oral exam in your third year of training.
Your public transportation costs will be covered by ODU.
Business processes (counts towards 40% of your overall grade)
The final exam on the subject of business processes lasts for 180 minutes and is taken on the first day of examinations. You will be asked open-ended questions about the related learning areas.
Economics and social studies
In this exam you will have 60 minutes to answer multiple-choice questions concerning social and economic aspects of your profession.
Commercial management and control (counts towards 20% of the overall grade))
Following the economics and social studies exam, you will sit a 90-minute final examination on the subject of commercial management and control. This is mainly based on topics relating to cost/benefit accounting and bookkeeping (multiple choice).
Examination based on a specialist field of activity (oral exam)
You will produce a five-page report on a process-oriented specialist task within your field of activity (your area of responsibility within the company). On the day of the exam, this will serve as the basis for your presentation (PPT) and the subsequent technical discussion. During your presentation you will be required to show – on the basis of your report – that you have understood the facts, workflows, and results in relation to the completed technical task. Afterwards, you will be asked questions on this topic. At this stage, it is important that you can explain and evaluate overall contexts and backgrounds. The presentation and technical discussion will take no more than 30 minutes in total.
After completing your training, you will have many opportunities as an industrial clerk. You can choose to work in any area (see the departments involved in your training), specialize in one field, and independently manage a particular area as a qualified clerk.
Further training to become an industrial specialist (IHK), business specialist (IHK), state-certified business administrator, etc. is open to everyone and is usually offered at the IHK’s center for further training in Mühldorf.
A degree in economics (business administration, international business administration) or industrial engineering is also possible.