Training recruiting: This is how companies like Edeka attract their trainees

How can young people be attracted to training? Especially when it is not about the “usual” top ten training occupations that young people know from their environment. Even more information on even more channels is not enough: In fact, young people “suffer” less from a lack of information about the numerous training opportunities that are available. Studies show that the problem is the overwhelming number of information channels that make them feel overwhelmed.

Parents as influencers

One approach to clearing a path to young people in the jungle of information is to go through their parents. In March, the Federal Employment Agency is offering associations and nationwide companies a platform for this with the ten-day series of digital parents’ evenings. “Parents are the most important advisors and ‘influencers’ in their children’s career choices, often before school and the internet,” explains BA spokeswoman Susanne Schnieber. “They shape the process significantly by acting as role models, imparting values ​​and providing emotional support.

As ‘career choice coaches’, they help to provide orientation, recognize strengths and find internships.” According to the BA expert, it is important to give parents the best possible opportunity to get an up-to-date overview of training and study paths. The digital parents’ evenings are apparently a success: in the past few years, almost 15,000 households have already been reached.

Correct outdated ideas

The need for information about training opportunities is not only great among young people; adults also sometimes lack realistic ideas. Aurelia Stein, education officer at the Total Metal Association, is already familiar with the BA event from previous years. Her assessment: It is important for Gesamtmetall not only to provide parents and young people with facts about training positions, but also to convey a differentiated picture of the industry.

It’s about breaking down prejudices about the industry and focusing on current career and future opportunities. Many families still have outdated images of careers in the metal and electrical industries that do not correspond to the real working world that is heavily influenced by technology and digital. “The parents’ evenings help the association to change this perspective and to provide long-term development opportunities, for example in the context of digitalization, energy transition and climate protection,” says Stein.

Address multipliers

The education expert from the Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH), Dr. Kirsten Kielbassa-Schnepp: “At digital parents’ evenings, outdated ideas can often be corrected, clichés can be broken down and a realistic picture of the craft can be conveyed, which shows how modern, innovative and digital many professions in this area actually are.”

The ZDH is taking part in the event for the third time. The experiences so far have been good all around – and apparently the format is not only popular with the core target group: “In addition to parents and young people, career counselors from the Federal Employment Agency have also been reached as multipliers, high schools and German schools abroad,” says Kielbassa-Schnepp.

Shortage of trainees at Edeka

The retail giant Edeka, which is also taking part in the BA event, also has these “advisory target groups” in mind when it comes to trainee marketing campaigns, according to the company. The demand for the cooperatively organized network is huge: According to the company, more than 50 different training occupations and dual study programs are offered across the entire Edeka network, from classic sales and commercial occupations to logistics, administration and IT through to occupations in production, for example in butchery, baking or confectionery.

Although over 9,000 new trainees were hired in the Edeka network, including Netto Marken-Discount, last year alone, not all training positions were filled – either because no sufficient or suitable talent was found or because young people sometimes have wrong ideas about individual training occupations.

Introduce industry diversity

The Federal Chemical Employers Association e. V. (BAVC) also uses the digital parents’ evenings to make the diversity of the industry and the different training opportunities visible. For Christopher Knieling, program manager in youth marketing, it is important to provide practical insights. The aim is to give parents tools with which they can find orientation together with their children – for example via digital tools such as the training finder, which helps to identify interests and strengths and to discover suitable training paths.

Specific questions

In addition to “big topics,” parents’ evenings often focus on very practical aspects, explains BA spokeswoman Schnieber: “Most questions revolve around entry opportunities, internships and job opportunities, advancement opportunities, benefits, and international experience or application methods.” In addition, there would be support before and during the training as well as questions about regional training advertisements. The “purpose” of the profession also often plays a role.

Direct contact for companies

In the healthcare sector, digital parent evenings are an important component of training acquisition, says Svenja Dörfler, Head of Education & Global Talents at Helios Kliniken. The format makes it possible to represent the diversity of clinical training. In the hospital context, it is important to show that training opportunities go far beyond traditional nursing and medical careers – for example in medical-technical professions, in administration or in technical areas.

“Especially in hospitals, many people initially only think of nursing – but we also introduce many other health and technical training paths,” explains Dörfler. As a result of the digital parents’ evenings, Helios regularly receives internship inquiries, which shows that families don’t just listen, but actively ask follow-up questions and think about concrete steps.

Low-threshold access

From the BA’s perspective, the digital parents’ evenings enrich the career orientation landscape simply because they are low-threshold to use – families can take part with little effort and without registration or registration hurdles. Given the large number of training occupations and dual study options, an early and practical examination of career options is helpful for many families in order to “make the right decision”.

Christina Petrick-Löhr is responsible for the research and teaching section of the magazine as well as reporting on training and further education. She is also responsible for the editorial planning of various special human resources publications as well as the German Human Resources Prize.