At the beginning of October 2024, our member SYSTEMA welcomed eight trainees from the Polish vocational school Centrum Kształcenia Zawodowego i Ustawicznego “Elektryk” in Nowa Sól to its site on Manfred-von-Ardenne-Ring. They were supported by Johannes Postel and Axel Wogawa, who work at the company as software developers in the field of system integration for semiconductor production.
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Silicon Saxony
Marketing, Kommunikation und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
Manfred-von-Ardenne-Ring 20 F
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Johannes Postel is also a trainer for IT specialists at the company and a member of the IHK examination board, so he can easily compare the German dual training system and the purely theoretical training at the Polish vocational school. He quickly noticed that “the young people lack practical relevance, but they certainly have good hard skills”.
Axel Wogawa (front left) and Johannes Postel (front right) explain the internship task
SYSTEMA was a practical partner for the vocational school for the second time, with the first internship taking place in October 2023. “In October 2023, eight young men took part, this year the group consisted of six boys and two girls,” says Johannes Postel. Four of them are studying at their vocational school with a focus on software development, while the other four are focusing on system integration.
The trainees, aged between 17 and 19, are completing their training at the Polish vocational school in conjunction with their A-levels. The two-week internship is the only real opportunity to gain practical experience. To this end, Johannes Postel and Axel Wogawa have come up with a task that represents the course of a “customer-oriented software development process” according to the classic waterfall model and thus offers the opportunity to get to know the various processes in a company.
“While I took on the role of the customer, who had no programming knowledge and repeatedly confronted the young people with questions that allowed them to practice explaining technical details in a way that even a layperson could understand, my colleague Axel supported them with technical expertise in developing the application,” explains Johannes Postel.
The eight trainees were divided into two teams, each of which was tasked with developing an application for a digital telephone directory for a fictitious small company. It was particularly exciting for the budding programmers, who were already familiar with Java, to get to know various additional tools, which they also installed on their own laptops.
In addition to technical skills such as programming with Java, soft skills such as teamwork and communication were also trained. The trainees communicated in German and English, supported by their German teacher Iwona Wysocka.
The internship gave the young people a comprehensive insight into the entire software development process, from requirements gathering to implementation, testing and handover. Every morning, they were also given insights into different departments of the company.
In addition, SYSTEMA presented the young people with various career opportunities within the company, both for internships and permanent positions. Recruiting young talent is an important aspect for SYSTEMA, which is why the company is trying out various recruiting strategies. Even if such an internship appears to be an uncertain investment at first glance, the strategy seems to be working, as last year’s participants have already expressed interest in an internship after completing their training.
The internship was funded by the ERASMUS program, which also provided the trainees with a social program in their free time. SYSTEMA also provided the young people with two weekly tickets for Dresden’s public transport system.
As part of the ERASMUS program, the young people also had the task of documenting their trip and preparing a presentation on the various IT professions in Germany and Poland. The young people were particularly impressed by their visit to the Bastei in Saxon Switzerland.
German teacher Iwona Wysocka provides support in researching various IT professions
At the end of the internship, all trainees received a certificate of participation from SYSTEMA, which they can use for their future application documents.
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The vocational school Centrum Kształcenia Zawodowego i Ustawicznego “Elektryk” in Nowa Sól is the largest and most modern vocational school in the Nowosolski district. It is looking for other Saxon companies that can offer a two-week internship for trainees in the subjects of computer science, electrics, mechatronics, environmental protection technology, industrial engineering, media design and office management. There are no costs for the companies, as travel and accommodation as well as the supporting program are covered by ERASMUS.
We are happy to help you get in touch. If you are interested, please contact us at professionals@silicon-saxony.de.
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