Exciting cooperation with Sindbad!
In cooperation with Sindbad, our employees Katrin and Thomas act as personal mentors for one student each. The mentors gain an insight into the colorful lives of the young talents and Sindbad offers our two colleagues social leadership training. Overall, there is a common goal: the mentees successfully start an apprenticeship or secondary school. Here they reveal what the whole thing looks like in practice and what motivates our colleagues.
Why are you taking part?
Thomas: It's a unique opportunity and I'm happy to be able to make a positive impact on a young person's life.
Katrin: I want to learn, gain new experiences and understand the younger generation better. As a lateral manager, the social leadership training courses are also particularly exciting for me.
How does the support from Sindbad work?
Thomas: We had two kick-off meetings. The collaboration is running smoothly. There are different hubs with ten people each and two to three leaders who are committed to supporting us as mentors. Each hub has a WhatsApp group and is also in close contact there. There is also an intranet with workshops on offer and emails inviting us to online events.
During the first social leadership training, you not only got to know your new role and dealt extensively with child and youth protection. You also reflected on your expectations, mentally traveled back to your youthful self and perhaps reached your limits.
What did you take away from this part of the kick-off meeting? What did you remember particularly positively?
Katrin: I took away one thing in particular from this part of the kick-off meeting: Just talking to our mentees is an exciting thing. They speak differently to us and sometimes use words in a completely different context than I am used to.
Thomas: I have fond memories of the first meeting with the team and Katrin. The results from the workshop units were particularly exciting for me. When I compared my daily routine today with that of my 14-year-old self, I realized that my mentee has a completely different one to me.
In a slightly modified version of the game "Stillepost", we talked about the description of pictures. Here it became clear that messages can be understood differently than they were originally said.
At this Sindbad meeting or afterwards, you were each assigned a student who you will accompany for a year. What does this look like in practice?
Katrin: Laura and I chat via WhatsApp and meet up in person at least once a month, which is particularly fun. Today, for example, we're meeting for dinner. As inspiration for choosing a job, I showed my mentee a website that contains a list of shortage occupations in Austria. I want to make sure that she has looked at many options before finalizing her decision. I look forward to seeing her achieve what she wants to do.
Thomas: Filip and I meet up spontaneously about every two weeks. Today is our third dinner together. Otherwise, we communicate via WhatsApp and TikTok and maybe want to go to the gym together soon. As we recently had a Sindbad appointment to discuss CVs and cover letters, we discussed application documents and had a great chat. I had drawn up a list of possible apprenticeships for my mentee and will support him with applications, for example for a summer internship. I will be most pleased if he gets an apprenticeship and that is also the aim of my support.
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