Looking Towards the Future with Sindbad and Plansee 

In November of last year, the kick-off of the Sindbad mentoring program took place at the youth center in Reutte. Today, a good six months later, the Plansee Group, which participated with five mentors from various areas of the company, takes stock: Four out of five mentees have now received an offer for an apprenticeship or a place at a further education school. The concept of Sindbad, helping young people on their way to their educational or professional training, has also proven itself in rural areas. Sindbad had previously focused on urban centers in Austria, such as Vienna, Graz, Salzburg, Innsbruck, or Linz.

The Path to the Desired Profession

One of our mentors is Kathrin Schreieck. The machining technician initially came to Plansee as a temporary worker after graduating from the local high school before starting her training. "At that time, I had no idea what I wanted to do," says the now 29-year-old. "The reason I stayed in school until graduation was that my environment encouraged me that I could do it. And then I did it, but I didn't know what to do next." This experience motivated Kathrin to volunteer when she heard about the Sindbad program. "I would have wished back then to have had a mentor who could have introduced me to the various possibilities." Now she herself fulfilled this role for her mentee Alexis.

Once a month, the two meet in a café in Reutte and just talk. Kathrin showed her some of the "office jobs" at Plansee with the help of colleagues. "We were in the HR department, with a department assistant, and in purchasing. Everywhere, colleagues showed us their activities, told us what was fun and what might sometimes be annoying. In any case, there was a good insight into all areas." When it became clear that this was not for Alexis at all, they finally came across a completely different path. Since early childhood, Alexis has had to overcome some health challenges. For personal reasons, she became intensely involved with questions about health and nutrition. "One day I directly asked her if that might be something for her," says Kathrin, "like a nutritionist." And that was it. "That's exactly my thing," says Alexis happily. So the two set out to find out what training opportunities there are for this profession. They quickly realized that a high school diploma would be necessary for this. Highly motivated, Alexis applied to the higher vocational school for economic professions (HLW) in Reutte – successfully.

In addition to regular meetings, Sindbad supports the teams of mentors and mentees with supervisions as well as communication and application training. The hope is that this program will catch on in the Außerfern region. "It would be wonderful if other companies in the region would also participate in the future," says Karlheinz Wex, spokesperson for the Plansee Group's board. "There are still far too many students who leave school each year without a degree."

Thank you very much to everyone who contributed to the very successful first season! If there is another season, we will let you know in good time. At the end of June, an event will take place in Lindenberg in the Allgäu, where our mentors will meet with those from companies in other locations to exchange ideas.

Photo: Christian Mörken