"Management is fun for us"

Conc, June 24, 2022

Varied, close to the people and not a boring office job. This is how the trainees Janina, Alina and Sarah describe their work at the Konz municipal administration. The three of them are doing a three-year apprenticeship as administrative clerks in the town hall and are very happy that they made the decision to do so.

f oto: Apprentices at the Konz municipal administration. They are trained, for example, to become administrative clerks, IT specialists, draftsmen, educators or also in the field of sewage and water supply technology.

“We experience again and again that people have prejudices and think: the administration only drinks coffee. We experience every day that this is not true at all,” says Alina and talks about her assignment after the war in Ukraine began. “We trainees get insights into other departments every six months. In February I was working in the social affairs department when more and more refugees from the Ukraine sought refuge in Konz,” she describes the situation. "Our administration was therefore looking for housing for these people - and I was able to help. Many citizens from the association community have offered housing, the willingness to help was enormous. I answered questions on the phone and by email and took up these offers for living space. It was a great feeling to be able to really do something and to help find an apartment for refugees.”

Janina also knows this feeling. “I think it's nice to be able to work so directly with people. We are very close to the citizens and try to help - in very different areas," she says. Because an administrative assistant can work in many departments. "Daycare centers, human resources, social affairs or construction ... we learn in our training how diverse the profession is and can then be used in just as many ways later on."

Also important for the three trainees: the fact that the administration in the Konz town hall is not that big. “We learn at the vocational school that trainees in other municipalities sometimes don't even know all the employees. We do not have that. We know who belongs to which department and that makes working together in everyday life very personal. Everyone works well together and as a trainee you are never afraid to ask questions,” says Sarah.

But isn't the training to become an administrative clerk very dry? Janina admits: “At the very beginning, the material at school is really a lot of theory and you have to deal with the laws. But when these topics come up in practice, it's no longer dry and you know why you learned it."

The best way to find out whether the job is right for someone is to do an internship in advance. Alina had already done a school internship at the municipal administration a few years ago and therefore knew that she would enjoy working in the town hall. “I knew the good atmosphere among colleagues here and also knew about the advantages for employees. There is a flextime system in the town hall, so we can, for example, decide flexibly when we start work in the morning between 7 and 9 a.m. In addition, we have very good prospects of a secure job after the training and 30 days of vacation, which is not a matter of course in all companies these days.”

And anyone who thinks: there are only office jobs in an administration - thinks wrong. Janina, Alina and Sarah are doing an apprenticeship in this area. But the administration is also looking for trainees in technical professions, for example for training as a draftsman, electronics technician, water supply technician and IT specialist. Sarah says: “I like that we work with all these people who have very different professions. That’s also what makes the job so varied.”

You can find all the information on the diverse training occupations at the Konz municipal administration at: www.konz.de/bildung