From Monday, June 19, to Friday, June 23, 175 apprentices from the respective regions will be on duty in participating stores in Vienna, Upper Austria, Salzburg, Carinthia and Styria to demonstrate their leadership skills and team spirit.
Harald Mießner, BILLA Board Member for Sales, is looking forward to the coming week and says:"'Apprentices lead stores' is considered one of the highlights at BILLA. In the course of the project, we, as one of the largest training providers in Austria, are proving this year for the eleventh time in a row how important it is to ideally prepare apprentices for their everyday working life. In the upcoming week, the apprentices will be given know-how and expertise in the various specialist areas and will take on a great deal of responsibility by slipping into the various roles themselves. I am sure that they will master the upcoming challenges with flying colors and wish them every success.
Exciting tasks and a sales competition await the apprentices
Before the start of the BILLA apprentice week, regional information days were scheduled for the apprentices, where they were prepared for the upcoming tasks and got to know each other better in team building activities. During "Apprentices Lead Markets", the apprentices rotate through the positions on a half-day basis to gain insights into the work processes in the different areas of a market such as fruit and vegetables, delicatessen, checkout or stock management. Extra motivation is provided: because the whole week is dedicated to a sales competition. On the one hand, the sales of certain snack items and on the other hand the design of a creative "summer display" in each region are evaluated. In addition, the participating apprentices in each region will design their own sales poster. A great prize awaits the first three places at the end of the apprentice week.
Lisa-Marie Schiemer from Neunkirchen, a prospective retail saleswoman specializing in food in her third year of apprenticeship, describes: "'Apprentices Run Markets' is an excellent opportunity to optimize one's own knowledge and also share it with other apprentices. I'm already looking forward to working together. I expect to learn a lot more from the upcoming week so that I can apply this knowledge later on." Fellow apprentice Magdalena Reibnegger from Micheldorf, who is also completing an apprenticeship as a retail saleswoman with a focus on food in her second year, agrees: "I'm really looking forward to the upcoming week, as I can finally show what I've learned during my apprenticeship and get to complete tasks independently. Since I love working in a team, I'm already very excited to meet the other apprentices and expect to have a lot of fun together."
Motivated young people wanted for over 420 available apprenticeships at BILLA
The range of apprenticeships at BILLA and BILLA PLUS is unique and varied. Around 1,700 apprentices are currently being trained in ten different apprenticeships, such as retail clerk with a focus on food, delicatessen with a focus on digital sales, or confectioner. It is also possible to do a double apprenticeship as a retail salesperson and office administrator. Depending on their interests, BILLA offers its apprentices a wide range of opportunities related to their apprenticeship training, such as apprenticeship with Matura or internships abroad. As part of their training at BILLA, regular apprentices in their second year of apprenticeship as well as integrative apprentices in their third year of apprenticeship take an intermediate examination in the areas of online knowledge test, technical discussion and presentation in order to evaluate the strengths as well as weaknesses of each individual. Depending on their needs, apprentices are then offered appropriate packages of measures such as intensive tutoring courses or sales training. Vocational school graduates and apprentices with good results are rewarded with attractive bonuses. In addition, there is also the opportunity to apply for the junior management program after successfully completing an apprenticeship.
In 2023, around 400 new apprentices have already started their training at BILLA, and more than 420 positions are currently still waiting to be filled by motivated young people. Special consideration is also given to the training of young people with disabilities. For example, BILLA has been building up a strong cooperation network for several years. The grocer currently employs 302 integrative apprentices - including 55 apprentices with an assessment notice. Depending on demand, additional apprenticeships for young people with disabilities are created in the provinces. Currently, 26 apprenticeships for young people with disabilities are available in Vienna.
The following BILLA stores are participating in the "Apprentices Lead Stores" project this year:
Schauflergasse 2/Herrengasse 1-3, 1010 Vienna
Schaumburgergasse 1, 1040 Vienna
Brückengasse 10/12, 1060 Vienna
Maria-Theresia-Strasse 55, 4600 Wels
Grottenhofstrasse 94, 8052 Graz
Pischeldorfer Street 182, 9020 Klagenfurt
Vogelweiderstrasse 22A-26, 5020 Salzburg
