Apprentices want to work abroad
International apprenticeship and worldwide internships at a. hartrodt attract young talents.
On the tough apprenticeship market, a. hartodt can score points. "Young people choose us specifically because, in addition to solid training, we also regularly offer internships abroad and, in individual cases, complete apprenticeships outside Germany through our country organizations," says Katarina Ognjuk, Human Resources Consultant at a. hartrodt in Hamburg. The family-owned company emphasises this in job advertisements and job interviews and thus attracts junior staff like Maximilian Wolf. The 21-year-old wanted to pursue an apprenticeship in freight forwarding and logistics services abroad after completing his international Business Baccalaureate and started at a. hartrodt in Hong Kong in September 2022.
Eight-week internship in Canada
Robert Alde has been studying for the dual Hamburg Logistics Bachelor's degree at a. hartrodt since August 2021. The four-year programme combines a commercial freight forwarding apprenticeship with a bachelor's degree in business administration. The highlight so far for the 23-year-old was an eight-week internship at a. hartrodt Canada in Toronto in July/August 2023: "Because North America has always appealed to me, I applied for funding from AusbildungWeltweit". He was able to start the internship abroad through this program "and support from my company".
Get to know working culture abroad
In Canada, Robert Alde was able to refine his sales experience with cold calling. "In English, that was an attractive challenge," he says. Back in Hamburg, he benefits from the internship in the sea freight export department: "It helps the customer to know as an apprentice how work is done abroad, because the German perspective often doesn't work there." Maximilian Wolf experiences the working culture in Hong Kong as "much more conservative" and "more hierarchical" than in Germany, but he could "handle it well", he says. His 22-month apprenticeship is exactly the same as in Germany, the examination at the AHK Hong Kong is recognised at home.
After completing their apprenticeship, a. hartrodt is able to keep many junior staff in the company, among other things "with the opportunity to take on a management position abroad one day", reports Katarina Ognjuk. Since 2014, the freight forwarding company has enabled 45 trainees to do an internship abroad.