Spars the star of apprentice training in Austria
One in two apprentices in the Austrian food retailing industry, and one in five apprentices in the country as a whole, is trained by Spar. The company is the country’s largest apprentice trainer in the food retail industry, with some 2,700 trainees. In 2006, Spar will again give around 900 young people– from the Bregenzerwald in the west to the Neusiedlersee in the east– the chance of training in one of 13 different skilled trades at Spar,Interspar and Hervis.
Among the specialisms open to trainees are hardware retailing,sport-equipment retailing, wholesaler, buyer, baker, pastry-cook, cook,chain-restaurant specialist, meat processor, warehousing, and insurance specialist. The company also offers an optional course in Ethics and the Maintenance of Culture, and another in organic produce.
The idea for the organic-produce course came from the trainees themselves. It lasts several months and is integrated into the normal Spar timetable. Experts in apprenticeship training, as well as Spar’s experts in the field of organics, worked out the content of the course. In addition to extensive studies in goods and product ranges, the course includes presentation techniques and customer service. The content primarily covers the advantages of organic products compared to conventional ranges, product origins, questions of correct storage and the control processes carried out in organic production. At the end of the training, trainees take an examination to become organic experts.
All trainees have monthly meetings with qualified trainers, and receive Spar Training World, a monthly specialist magazine containing practical information,tips and answers to questions.
As well as a guaranteed job if they perform well, some extras that successful Spar apprentices can enjoy are: a monthly apprentice bonus of up to €51; a bonus of up to €218 upon qualification; a free B-class driving licence for above-average performance over the three years of the apprenticeship; additional computer training; the possibility of free additional training in English,Italian, Slovenian, Hungarian or Czech; discount on purchases from Interspar and Hervis; vouchers for Spar own-brands and exclusive brands; and meal coupons.
Instead of acceptance tests, so-called “apprentice auditions”, or employee audits, are used to select apprentices in the Tyrol, Salzburg, Kärnten and the Steiermark. Young people present themselves before the camera or in front of the decision makers, and try to prove their ability to communicate and their social skills.
Much of the training takes place at the Spar Academy, Vienna. However, the company also has its own private technical college under public law, and through close co-operation with technical colleges and provincial school councils, has its own Spar academy classes in these institutions.
“The aim of these classes is to provide practical training for Spar apprentices in the retail and food-retail trades, combined with an increased development of the economic and social skills of these young people,” said Fritz Poppmeier, chairman of Spar Austria. “With our own college classes,we are making new roads in the Austrian school system. The advantage of the Spar academy classes for students and teachers is that the up-to-date college training is practice-oriented and based on the many demands made of the apprentices in individual markets. The teachers also profit from this new route in the school system, as the apprentices confront them with daily details and experiences resulting from their specific work. In addition to the college timetable, the apprentices are also intensively familiarized with Spar know-how.”
After the initial apprenticeship, further training is available for future employees. The Spar master’s, for example, is a unique qualification that has been available in the industry for 30 years. Those who pass it can become independent traders.
“For Spar, as an apprentice trainer, we have a significant task in promoting the economic and social skills of young people in a focused manner,and giving them optimum preparation, not only for their future career path, but also for life. All of the career opportunities in a central European company are open to our trainees,” said Fritz Poppmeier.
The worldwide Spar organization comprises almost 14,500 stores in 33 countries, across four continents, with retail sales of €28 billion. The company serves more than nine million consumers every day.
