Companies get creative

How young people discover their dream job at night

Luca Rainer is happy with his apprenticeship as an electrical engineer and IT technician and shows interested pupils what he has learned.(Bild: Hölzl Roland)

Job fairs alone are no longer enough to recruit young people. Companies are "going bare" and opening their doors to young people at the "Long Night of Apprenticeships" in three districts. 

Luca Rainer (18) from Mühlbach made it: out of 150 applicants, he secured an apprenticeship as an electronics and IT technician at Eurofunk Kappacher in St. Johann. Yesterday, he showed curious pupils who came to the "Long Night of Apprenticeships" in Pongau what he has learned since then and what they can expect if they want to work with technology for emergency call centers.

"I'm allowed to work in all departments and also set up the systems outside," says the 18-year-old as he helps Tobias and Samuel with soldering, who can definitely imagine doing an apprenticeship there. The company is demanding when it comes to selecting applicants, says apprentice trainer Martin Gotthardt: "We can still choose."

The situation is different at Dafi in Eben, where special photovoltaic systems are developed. "We recently had difficulties with applications," says Christian Hafner, who is responsible for recruitment. "We have invested in our public image, visiting schools and trade fairs. Now we're taking a different approach to recruitment." Because the students are now choosing the company. And they have to deliver: 1067 apprenticeships can still be filled by September. Perhaps interested pupils will find their dream job at the end of the "Long Night of Apprenticeships" in Lungau today.