Daniela M., a 3rd-year office management trainee, is a real organizational talent. She is currently helping us plan our Open Day on September 17, 2023, keeping track of all the activities and ensuring a smooth flow of information within the departments of the Euro-BBW. She virtually directs the event. During an interview, Ms. M. answered a few questions for us about her new role:   

How did you come to support the "Open House Working Group" team in organizing the event?

I am currently in my third year of training as an office management assistant. With regard to our final oral examination - which will take place next summer - we trainees in the field of office management have the opportunity to choose between two variants of the technical discussion. In the classic version, on the day of the oral examination, you are given a situational task for which you can prepare 15 minutes in advance and which deals with one of the two elective qualifications - which you selected at the beginning of your training. This means that you don't have a choice of topics for this situational task. Personally, the second variant - the so-called report variant - appealed to me much more for exactly this reason, which is why I also decided on this variant. This gives me the opportunity to choose two topics myself and to write a report on each of them of a maximum of 3 pages, taking into account the requirements of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. These specifications include that the processes - which one carries out as a basis for the respective two reports - have a minimum level of complexity, i.e. that they are not the everyday routine tasks. This also means that these specialist tasks should include a certain amount of analysis and decision-making aspects. So it was ideal that the European Vocational Training Center's open day was taking place this year and that I could get involved there. That's how it came about that I was included in the associated working group and can write one of my two reports - suitable for my elective qualifications Secretariat & Assistance and Order Management & Coordination - about this planning and associated work processes.

The open day is quite a big event with a lot to organize. What have been your tasks so far?

So far, my job has been to take notes at the working group meetings and write them up in the associated minutes. I also compiled a collection of all the ideas from the different areas. Research work of all kinds was also part of this, as well as making telephone calls and exchanging information with the staff and external associated groups of people. However, I still have a lot of work ahead of me, which I'm already looking forward to, as I enjoy getting to know new areas of work!

What do you enjoy most about this work? What was a challenge?

Since an event of this magnitude is new territory for me, the start was exciting in itself. In my opinion, challenges serve to grow personally and to be able to expand one's own horizons, which is why I like to accept them. What I enjoy most is communicating with the staff - most of whom I have had the opportunity to get to know - and the external people who play a key role at the open day. I also like having a certain amount of responsibility and becoming familiar with practical aspects of the work - which go beyond the regular training. This gives you the opportunity to gain some valuable work experience before you graduate, which I am grateful for.

What are you most looking forward to at the Open House?

Since it will be my first open house, I am first looking forward to the general flow of this event. Also, to the musical acts from my Eifel region, with whom I have also been in contact at times, and of course, to the various guests from the surrounding area who will be visiting our vocational training center.