An apprenticeship, then, isn’t just about acquiring specialist knowledge. It’s also an important orientation phase in which young people can discover which tasks motivate them—and which are less of a fit.
Valencia internship as a confidence boost
A special chapter in Leonie’s apprenticeship was a four-week Erasmus internship in Valencia. For Leonie, the trip meant far more than just a change of location. For the first time, she was on her own abroad for an extended period—in a country whose language she didn’t speak and whose culture she knew only from vacations.
The experience, she says, made her more confident and showed her that there’s no need to be afraid of new challenges. Even without perfect language skills, you can find solutions, get support, and gain valuable experience. Young people, in particular, benefit from time abroad like this. It not only strengthens language skills, but also fosters independence, adaptability, and self-confidence—qualities that are highly valuable later in professional life.
Shortened apprenticeship for a faster start to working life
After her time abroad, a new perspective opened up for Leonie. While she was still in training, she was given the opportunity to move into a role as an HR officer in People & Culture afterward. In addition, thanks to very strong performance, she was able to shorten her apprenticeship and start her career sooner.
From apprentice to trainer
Things get especially interesting when the perspective shifts. Only a short time after completing her own apprenticeship, Leonie decided to take the trainer aptitude exam—a personal goal to continue developing.
In preparing for it, she learned about different teaching methods and gained insights into professional knowledge transfer. As an apprentice, you often don’t consciously notice many of these concepts. It’s only when you’re on the other side that you get a sense of how much planning and methodology go into a good apprenticeship.
At just 20 years old, Leonie will take on responsibility for her first apprentice industrial clerk from September 2026. It’s a task she approaches with respect, but also with great anticipation.
Feedback, trust, and a healthy approach to mistakes
What makes a good trainer? For Leonie, three things are central: trust, openness, and regular feedback. From her own apprenticeship, she especially remembers the positive collaboration with her trainer. She now wants to pass that mutual understanding on to the next generation. Regular feedback for the apprentice is particularly important to her, so trainees always know where they stand, what’s already going well, and where they can still develop further.
Equally important to her is a constructive way of dealing with mistakes. Mistakes are not a sign of weakness, but a natural part of any learning process. Instead of looking for someone to blame, the focus is on finding solutions together and learning from experience—for an open and successful training environment.
Braver into the future
At the end of the episode, Leonie looks back once more on her own apprenticeship. What advice would she give her younger self? Her answer is surprisingly simple: worry less. Not every decision has to be perfect. No one has all the answers at the start of their career. What matters far more is staying open to new experiences, seizing opportunities, and trusting that many things only develop over time.
