As part of the ‘Students Meet Business’ event, 200 students met with 31 companies in the Audimax at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences on the Kleve campus.
Kleve District – Together, the university president, Dr Heide Naderer, Campus Cleve Chair Peter Wack and District Business Development Officer Hans-Josef Kuypers welcomed the young students, who had found seats right in the far corners of the lecture theatre, perched on stools and on the steps. Mercedes Herbrand had had a small leaflet printed especially for the day, outlining the career opportunities at the brand with the star (Our career opportunities for students). MSK-Verpackungs-Systeme GmbH from Kleve highlighted its new site in the United States, offered opportunities for Bachelor’s and Master’s dissertations, and held out the prospect of permanent positions in the future. “English is the language of our day-to-day business,” emphasised Uwe Jonkmanns on behalf of the international company.
The colourful brochure featuring the five-axle tanker drew the young men in like a magnet. There were consistently around 25 interested students who spoke to Jan Bolz, the contact person for production optimisation and health and safety at GOFA Gocher Fahrzeugbau, at the “Students Meet Business” event. “Most candidates would want to learn German in order to secure a job with us,” Bolz emphasised. The topic of language was frequently at the forefront that afternoon. The Friends of the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences – Campus Cleve had specially engaged Andrea Blomen, a simultaneous interpreter, for this afternoon at the Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences’ lecture theatre centre; she translated into English both the interviews conducted by presenter Christoph Kepser with the company representatives and the content of the 22 film portraits of local employers – all of this was sponsored by the Kreis-WfG, the Sparkassen and the Volksbanken.
After around three hours, the organisers, led by Campus Director Peter Wack, drew a decidedly positive conclusion. 31 companies had accepted the invitation from their Friends’ Association; 21 different company profiles were shown on the big screen in Lecture Theatre 1; and more than 200 young students were discovering what their future might look like once they had completed their Bachelor’s thesis. Over soft drinks and light refreshments, there were nods of approval in response to the question: “Would you like to repeat this event next year?”
Uwe Kockerbeck from the service provider Apollo Milchprodukte on Hoffmannallee sources dairy products from across Europe, so he has to maintain regular contact with Belgium, Sweden, Germany and Poland. According to Natascha Heystrüver, the company is currently looking, above all, for people with sales skills who, in addition to German and English, are also fluent in Spanish. Each company thus set its own priorities.
“ForFarmers Thesing” from Rees made a strong first impression with a company profile for which they seemed to have enlisted Johnny Cash himself as the narrator. “We’re looking for people who are passionate,” admitted Marie-Christine Thesing, adding: “Above all, we need good salespeople who can make one or two animals even happier.”
Nicole Ferber, the marketing specialist at the tax consultancy Lommen & Kollegen in Emmerich am Rhein, was delighted to receive a spontaneous, hand-delivered application in the lecture theatre building, whilst Gert Budde, an experienced educator and deputy headteacher at Kleve District Vocational College, encouraged students to consider a career in vocational education. The vocational college had welcomed 24 new teaching staff this year. Following a Master’s degree at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, the path to teaching technical subjects is not very far, Budde said in an interview. But the German language – there was that topic again – is an absolute must.
