Good prospects for Lichtstadt's young talent

The city of Jena welcomes 33 new trainees. Together with the training managers, Lord Mayor Dr. Thomas Nitzsche welcomed the young trainees today at a ceremony in the Volksbad.

"A city administration is first and foremost there for its residents," emphasized Nitzsche. According to the Lord Mayor, the city is dependent on qualified specialists in order to be able to carry out its diverse tasks - from the cradle to the grave. The career opportunities for new recruits are excellent. "We do not want to and will not let up in attracting good young talent in the future and will continue to pay a lot of attention to training."

"The number of our trainees has risen continuously in recent years," said Anja Andritzke, training coordinator for the core administration. While the number of new trainees and students in 2015 was 28, it is set to rise to 45 in the coming year. The spectrum has also become increasingly broad - the city of Jena now offers almost 30 training and study courses. New additions this year are the training courses for industrial clerks and forestry specialists, both of which are offered by Kommunalservice Jena.

Administrative clerks and office management clerks are the largest group

Anja Andritzke said that there is particularly high demand for apprenticeships in administration and office management. They form the largest group of new trainees. These two apprenticeships are located in the core administration - as are the civil servant trainees in the higher non-technical service, the social work course and the public management course, educators, emergency paramedics, fire officer trainees, fire chief inspector trainees and IT specialists.

Five trainees are starting at Eigenbetrieb JenaKultur, three at Kommunalservice Jena and one at jenarbeit.

Mentors and trainers support the start of training

After being welcomed, the trainees can look forward to an opening week in which they not only get to know Jena and the city administration with its departments and tasks, but also take part in seminars on how to start their careers successfully, intercultural communication and how to take healthy breaks. In addition, at least one apprentice from a higher apprenticeship year is available as a mentor for each training program to help them with any questions they may have about starting their career.

A team-building day is also held in Jena Forest so that the various apprenticeships can network better.

Training coordinator Andritzke is particularly proud of the fact that more than 100 city employees have now been trained as trainers. "It is thanks to our trainers in particular that we have repeatedly made it among 'Germany's best trainers' in the past," emphasized Ms Andritzke. The city of Jena received this award again in 2023.

Melanie Otto was also present to welcome the newcomers for the first time. She has been Head of Human Resources since July 2024, following the retirement of her predecessor Siegrun Cais. Otto emphasized the extraordinary commitment of the trainers, who play a decisive role in the trainees' careers: "They are not only teachers, but also mentors, supporters and sometimes even companions for years. They not only impart the necessary knowledge, but also values such as teamwork, perseverance and creativity." They invested "countless hours" to provide the best possible training.

Congratulations to 39 graduates

As well as welcoming the new arrivals, 39 graduates were also given a ceremonial send-off this Friday. 32 of them successfully completed their training in the core administration - as civil servant candidates in the higher non-technical service, as administrative assistants, office management assistants, IT specialists, fire officers, emergency paramedics and educators. One student successfully completed the dual study program in public management, as did two graduates from the dual study program in social work for the first time after a break of several years.

The municipal enterprise JenaKultur also congratulated a newly qualified event technology specialist and Kommunalservice Jena a management assistant for office management, an electronics technician, two professional drivers and a civil engineering technician. Kommunale Immobilien Jena congratulated a real estate agent, a draftsman and a civil engineering graduate.

All graduates from the core administration were offered employment. The young specialists are now starting their careers in the Municipal Regulations Department, the Registry Office, the Staff Council, the Immigration and Residence Department and as IT specialists in the Municipal Information Technology and Telecommunications Department (KITT).

Trainee channel on Instagram

The Instagram channel provides information and insights into the wide range of training opportunities: @stadtjena.deineausbildung