Vocational trainer course: Experience report from participant Joel Sommerer - taking over the supervision of apprentices in the retail trade as a vocational trainer

Joel Sommerer

Please tell us about your career to date.

My name is Joel Sommerer and I completed an apprenticeship as a retail specialist at Interio. After a short stint in the office, I returned to sales as deputy sales manager. Today I look after four apprentices at Möbel Pfister and have attended a vocational training course for this.

At which school did you complete the vocational training course?

I attended the vocational training course at the SIU school.

Why did you want to do the vocational trainer course?

I completed the vocational training course so that I could gain my first management experience. This also enabled me to take the federal examination as a retail specialist.

What is it like working with learners?

Working with the apprentices as a vocational trainer is very exciting and varied for me. It's also a good school for me personally and for my personal development.

What are the challenges of supervising learners?

My four learners are all very different. The challenge for me in supervising learners is to perceive and treat each learner as an individual person. Everyone has their own needs and should be trained and supported differently. A vocational trainer should take this into account in their work.

What do you like best about working as a vocational trainer?

As a vocational trainer, I particularly like the variety in my working life. I also enjoy passing on my knowledge.

What did you find particularly helpful on the vocational trainer course?

The knowledge of the legal aspects from the vocational trainer course was particularly helpful. We covered this in detail on the course and it was particularly exciting for me. For example, we learned how long apprentices are allowed to work and how much vacation they are entitled to.

Were you able to put what you learned on the vocational training course into practice quickly?

Yes, actually I did. What I found great was the reference book from the vocational training course. I have it in the store today and can look it up at any time and read up on certain topics in more detail if I'm unsure. This certainly helps both me and the company in my day-to-day work.

Do you also select learners?

Yes, I select our apprentices. I learned how to select during the recruitment process on the vocational trainer course. During the last wave of recruitment, this really helped me to triage better and select the right apprentice.

Who would you recommend the course to and what does it take to become a good vocational trainer?

I think you need a good feeling for people to be a good vocational trainer. The willingness to pass on your own knowledge is also important. You should enjoy looking after other people. It's not always easy with apprentices, but it's definitely very exciting and I would definitely do the training again.

Overview of schools for vocational trainers (vocational trainer course)