During the retraining as a warehouse logistics specialist at the ISE Language and Vocational Training Center (Sulzbach-Rosenberg location), a total of two internship periods, each lasting approximately three months, are required. We as retrainees had the choice of either looking for a company for the practical part of the training ourselves according to our own wishes and ideas or relying on the support of the ISE-internal internship and employment agent Helmut Albrecht.
For my part, I decided to complete the second internship at my current employer ZF Friedrichshafen AG (formerly Cherry GmbH) in Bayreuth. The company operates as an automotive supplier and – as in previous years – produces keyboards in many different specifications for the IT sector. I had been working for the same employer for several years - but only at the Auerbach location. It made me curious to get to know the processes and the various activities at the branch in Bayreuth in more detail. I was also excited to see what new things there were to explore and how you would generally be treated and perceived as an intern.
Overall, I had a pretty positive experience. Right from the start of the internship, I was warmly welcomed into the department. All the employees were very helpful and introduced me to the different areas of activity. As you can see in the picture, I was responsible, among other things, for storing and retrieving various supplier parts and raw materials using a forklift. During the internship, I was also responsible for loading and unloading trucks, preparing goods for dispatch and supplying the production with granulate in-house.
There is a certain feeling of accomplishment in being able to play a small role in the overall success of a company. I didn't feel like cheap labor.
The working time regulations in the company were designed to be quite humane for interns.
At the end of the internship, the two ISE employees Helmut Albrecht (see above) and my training manager Richard Kirschner visited me, who asked me about my experiences during the internship.
In conclusion, I can say that I was certainly able to learn a lot of new things, even though I had already been working in the warehouse and logistics sector for several years. It was also good to get a taste of the company atmosphere again after the many hours of teaching and to get a change from the theoretical lessons through practical work.
I am satisfied and would take up the internship at ZF Friedrichshafen AG in Bayreuth again at any time.
Timo Wölfel