228 apprentices from all over Austria will train for a week in management responsibility starting on 4th October.
Seven stores in six provinces will be managed by apprentices from Monday to Friday. For the first time, a BILLA PLUS store is also taking part.
This campaign marks the start of the apprentice search for 2022. A total of 500 apprenticeships will be awarded - increasingly also to young people with disabilities.
With over 1,700 apprentices throughout Austria and eleven apprenticeships, the BILLA family is one of the most important training providers in the country and offers numerous opportunities for young people.
"Keeping a store running with sometimes more than 50 or 70 employees and offering customers the usual selection, freshness and quality every day is a task that should not be underestimated. I am very proud of our junior staff and I am sure they will do a great job running the shop'," says Harald Mießner, BILLA CEO, and adds: "It is our responsibility as trainers to give young people not only excellent professional qualifications but also skills such as a sense of responsibility, organisational skills and team spirit. That's why this project is so important."
Managers of tomorrow already in action today
During the project week, the young junior managers not only have the opportunity to put what they have learned into practice and train their leadership and planning skills, they also learn how to lead and motivate a team. In addition, there will be a competition on three days where the sales results from the fresh food areas of the seven stores will be compared and a winning store will be chosen. Attractive prizes await the winners.
Pia Mantler, a prospective retail saleswoman with a focus on food in her 2nd year of apprenticeship, works at the BILLA store in Stockerau and looks forward to the week with joy and a little excitement: "I think it's great that we are given such a big responsibility and that we are trusted so much. This week we will show what we are capable of and I think we will learn a lot more. I'm especially looking forward to the exchange of experiences with the others and the opportunity to get a taste of a leadership position." Her colleague Sven Gindl, who is completing a retail apprenticeship with a focus on groceries including his Matura at the BILLA store on Währinger Gürtel in Vienna, agrees with her: "I think that we are already quite well prepared for the tasks of the coming weeks thanks to the training and everything we have learned so far. Above all, I am pleased that we apprentices are trusted to manage a store largely on our own. And we all work together in a team, so we can also benefit from each other's knowledge and experience."
500 apprentices wanted - increasingly young people with disabilities as well
The project "Lehrlinge führen Märkte" also marks the start of the apprenticeship search for 2022. Around 500 apprenticeship positions at BILLA and BILLA PLUS throughout Austria are to be filled. There are eleven apprenticeships to choose from, such as retail sales assistant with a focus on food, retail sales assistant with a focus on delicatessen and retail sales assistant with a focus on digital sales. The professional and personal training and further education opportunities for young people are as diverse as the apprenticeships themselves. For example, apprentices can opt for the apprenticeship with Matura and also obtain their Matura qualification during their apprenticeship. In addition, there is the possibility to gain international experience in the course of an internship abroad. Good results at vocational school and in the final apprenticeship examination are also recognised and rewarded with attractive bonuses. In addition, after successfully completing their apprenticeship, the young talents can make a career for themselves within the framework of the junior management programme and soon manage a store as the manager of tomorrow.
In addition to promoting young talent, practising inclusion is also an important factor in the BILLA family and also part of the REWE Group Austria corporate philosophy. For this reason, apprentices with disabilities are also specifically accepted in all provinces. Currently, around 200 of the total of 1,725 apprentices are inclusive apprentices - 45 of whom have a disability. "We are very proud of our integrative apprentices, who complete an extended apprenticeship or partial qualification and do very good work, especially in the retail sector but also in delicatessen and confectionery. This year alone, around 20 young people with disabilities started their 1st apprenticeship year and we hope that many more will apply for 2022," says Harald Mießner.
