From intern to team colleague: Lia’s journey to success at HAAS
Lia (17) completed an internship with us from January to mid-July and offers us some insight into her journey so far and her experiences at our company. She has shown commitment from day one and has developed from an interested intern into a valuable team colleague and future trainee.
Internship as optimal preparation for future professional life
Lia is a student at the technical secondary school in Höhr-Grenzhausen, specialising in design. In the first year of her two-year programme, she completes an internship in which she spends two days a week in school and three days in the workplace. Her second year consists purely of theory lessons before she takes her final exams in German, Maths, English and Design/Technology.
Initially, Lia was sceptical about office work and started an internship at a company for installation and assembly. Looking for new opportunities, she came to us at HAAS and completed six taster days in our technical office. “I recognised the value of small project work and gained an insight into technical design work,” says Lia. Her interest in technical product design grew and she eventually found her place in the office.
Everyday work and experiences in the company
In the HAAS office, Lia’s day began with an overview of the tasks ahead and the opportunity to finalise assignments from the previous day. She supported her colleagues by printing, folding and distributing drawings and plans and familiarised herself with new responsibilities, such as working with Visual CADD. She appreciated the independent way of working and the support of her colleagues, who always answered all her questions and gave her advice.
“I like the working atmosphere, our regular team breakfast (I love food!) and we have a great office size. In another company, I already had the experience of working in an open-plan office with over 30 colleagues. I found it very difficult to concentrate on my work.”
Lia recently wrote a technical report on the new “HAAS fabric and film separator” and completed it with a successful grade of 2+ (B+). Working with various colleagues and departments (Technical Documentation and Marketing), she has already been able to get a taste of cross-departmental work.
“I like the internship opportunity. It gives students a better insight into professional life. There are clear differences between everyday school life and a possible working life. In a professional environment, it’s easy to find out for yourself what level you’re at. Suddenly it becomes clear what you need things for and this may give you a different perspective. For example, maths used to be just maths, but now it makes sense because you need it to build machines. During my internship, I experienced a lot, was able to ask questions at any time and develop myself further.”
No farewell forever
Today is Lia’s last day of her internship at HAAS. Together with her colleagues in the department, she has a final breakfast to celebrate the day. Lia has a tear in her eye, she will miss the team. The internship was a win-win situation for everyone – Lia will be our Technical Product Design apprentice in 2025!
“See you soon dear Lia, it was a great internship with you! We are already looking forward to welcoming you as an apprentice next year!”
Your department colleagues and the entire HAAS team.
Are you also interested in an internship and possibly even an apprenticeship at HAAS Recycling-Systems?
Then get in touch with us >> www.haas-recycling.de
