Several apprentices in Mönchengladbach were recently honored for their outstanding commitment during the “Azubis zu Schulen” project – with special recognition from the Trützschler Foundation, its partner ROCKID.one and Mayor of Mönchengladbach Felix Heinrichs, as well as Daniela Perner, Managing Director at the Lower Rhine Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK Mittlerer Niederrhein).
A total of 31 apprentices have received a personal award recognizing their commitment to promoting digital education and media skills among students at five elementary schools in Mönchengladbach during the past school year.
The apprentices are employed by local companies including NEW AG, Gladbacher Bank AG, SMS group GmbH, AUNDE Group, Vanderlande Industries GmbH & Co. KG, Stadtwerke Service Meerbusch Willich GmbH & Co. KG and Trützschler Group SE. In close cooperation with the teachers, they taught school students how to use tablet devices, search engines and work-related software correctly, while also providing insights into programming robotics..
Ares Bernhardt, an apprentice in the field of electrical/electronic engineering at the Trützschler Group SE, believes the initiative was a great success for everybody involved. “Spending time with these kids was very exciting,” he says. “It was cool to teach other people for a change – and I was surprised by how eager the students were to learn. I highly recommend other trainees to take part in this project because it’s a fantastic opportunity for personal and professional growth.”
Betül Düz, an office management trainee at NEW AG, shares this sentiment. “I felt supported by the teachers and ROCKID.one the whole time. Overall, it was a great team effort between teachers, students and trainees – I really enjoyed it.”
High praise from Mayor Felix Heinrichs
The Mayor of Mönchengladbach, Felix Heinrichs, sees significant potential in the future of the “Azubis an Schulen” project and is impressed by the unprecedented commitment of the companies and young people involved. “It’s simply great that a large number of companies and trainees in Mönchengladbach are willing to invest time and effort to share knowledge with elementary school children at eye level,” he says.
“This social commitment demonstrates a strong spirit of unity. The project also shows that cooperation between companies in Mönchengladbach and the Lower Rhine Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK Mittlerer Niederrhein) is working perfectly. I’m delighted by this shared achievement.”
After successfully establishing the project at 70 schools in four German states over the past four years, the Trützschler Foundation and ROCKID.one are aiming for even more success in Mönchengladbach next year. The “Azubis an Schulen” project will be rolled out at another 5-10 elementary schools. In addition, the two partners are pursuing an extracurricular learning concept in cooperation with the Junior University in Mönchengladbach.
“We are very pleased that we have been able to win over so many companies and trainees for this great project in Mönchengladbach – and we will continue to give this initiative our full support. The Trützschler Foundation will continue to provide funding for ‘Azubis an Schulen’ for the next two years,” says Caroline Lange, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Trützschler Group SE.
The success so far has helped strengthen ROCKID.one’s commitment to launching this concept in other German locations next year – including Bremen, Dortmund, Hamburg, Münster and the Rhine-Ruhr region.
