Training starts for 17 future skilled workers

A new phase of life began for 17 young individuals at Mercer Stendal on August 15, 2022. One dual student and 16 apprentices started of their first week of training at the Arneburg site. Ralf Donk, Human Resources Manager, welcomed the new generation in the company’s auditorium.

“We don’t start this training year until the middle of the month because we want our trainees to enjoy more of their summer holidays,” explained Sirko Röder, Training Coordinator at the company. 

To prepare them for their training period at Mercer Stendal, the mill plans an introductory week to all things Mercer. August 15th and 16th (Monday and Tuesday) will bring all 17 newcomers together in Arneburg. During this time, they will get to know the plant, along with their trainers and managers. They also receive their personal protective equipment and Mercer clothing, prompting an introduction to our value of Health & Safety and the importance of prevention during their training period throughout their various training locations. They will be handed their school books, which the company has bought for them. “We have everything ready so that the training can start smoothly for them,” Röder continues.

In addition to the current 13 apprentices in their second-to-fourth year of training, amongst this new group of apprentices include those who want to become paper technologists (1), chemical technicians (6), chemical laboratory assistants (2), mechatronics technicians (2), electronics technicians for industrial engineering (2), industrial mechanics (1) and forwarding agents (1), as well as warehouse logistics specialists (1). Vocational schools in Altenburg, Bitterfeld-Wolfen, and Stendal are available for their theoretical training. The first dual student at Mercer Stendal will study electrical engineering and information technology at the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Köthen. 

To help start this new period with a motivated and committed team, Röder organized a three-day trainee camp in Bad Saarow on Lake Scharmützel as part of their first week of training. The 17 new apprentices are brought together with the 13 current apprentices and five colleagues from Mercer Stendal, where the group will go hiking, build a raft, cook, practice archery, and spend time getting to know each other around the campfire. 

Once reinvigorated by the outdoors, they will begin their apprenticeship year. Sirko Röder notes that this training is more than completing an apprenticeship. “We train for ourselves and not for the free market. Everyone who learns with us should be able to work for us later on.”

Header photo: These 16 young individuals (one more will join in the course of the week) began as apprentices at Mercer Stendal on August 15, 2022.