I embarked on the headquarters apprenticeship for the commercial assistant’s qualification at Siemens Transportation Systems in October 2003 after completing my high-school education and community service (in lieu of military service).

During the course of my training over the next two years I will get to know most of the various TS locations in Germany. In the various departments where I work, I get the opportunity to apply and expand the theoretical knowledge that I have learned during four several-week school phases.

I am constantly gaining new insights about the work in a business administration department, establishing contacts with employees from different groups, and gaining a bigger picture of how separate business procedures interrelate: production, sales, purchasing, controlling, and accounting.

The work experience in various divisions and projects at TS is quickly giving me an insight into the wide range of different work and orders that this Siemens Group has to cover.

The frequent moves to different locations are also a good experience. After all, the constant moves teach you flexibility and acceptance of a lifestyle of often very short, temporary sojourns in places as far apart as Berlin and Munich.

The many coordinators, instructors, and contacts that are available for organizational problems and queries regarding training at the various locations have become very important for me.

But the fundamental factor that this apprenticeship seeks to promote and also expects from you is personal commitment. It is up to each of us work on those ourselves during apprenticeship.

And because the headquarters apprenticeship sets such great store by applicability to everyday work, the actual subject of business administration is complemented by other important skills such as teamwork, communications, and presentation techniques.