Diana Weiss work placement report 31 June –31 August 2019
In the morning, I was warmly welcomed by the Head of HR, Ms Britta Ubl, and we started with the mandatory safety briefing. After this, we looked at the prescribed safety instructions. Then I was given safety shoes and we took a short tour of the company so I could get a feel for the many different production departments. As the new training year was due to start the next day in many companies in Rhineland-Palatinate, including BSH, we made some final preparations to welcome the new apprentices and provide them with an enjoyable start to their training.
In the days following this varied and eventful day, I was introduced to various programs that BSH uses on a daily basis, such as the ERP program ‘abas’ and the ‘electronic lever-arch file’ filing system (ELO). With the assistance of Ms Ubl, I was allowed to use these programs for my work on a regular basis over the next few weeks, for instance to enter the nine apprentices in the ‘abas’ employee record filing system.
During the course of the work placement I was given regular updates on key personnel topics, such as organisational charts, competency profiles, BEM/BGM, qualification matrix, etc.
As the company also has a headquarters in China (BST – Taicang), I read up on the education and vocational training systems in China so that BST can make informed decisions regarding skilled workers and training.
As you know, MS-Office programs are used in all commercial professions – and of course, I also needed to use them during my work placement. I used both Word and Excel intensively to write reports and create analyses and spreadsheets. For example, I revised and partially redesigned the technical recruitment test. I also worked with Ms Ubl to generate a work placement certificate for a former intern and a letter of reference.
The ‘Young Talents’ training day was also held during my work placement period on 17 August 2019 and I was able to spend a few days helping to organise it.
On 20 August 2019, Ms Ubl and I attended a workshop on the topic of ‘Employer Branding’ where we also got to know or met up again with HR managers from other companies.
After such intensive and supportive supervision during my work placement, I can now start my second semester well prepared and with more knowledge.
I would like to thank the entire BSH business team, in particular Ms Ubl, for the great time and effective support.
Report by: Diana Weiss
