Attractive fresh food counters and fruit and vegetable departments with knowledgeable employees are the flagship of every REWE store. this is exactly where the REWE Academy training courses for specialised staff come into play.
Since the beginning of 2021, the internal training programme "REWE Academy for Specialists" has offered employees in the fresh food counters and fruit and vegetable departments the opportunity to gain further qualifications in their specialist area. In four seminar levels - from basic knowledge 1 and 2 to advanced knowledge and specialised knowledge - they deepen their specialist knowledge and then pass it on to their customers. For the first time, training courses at the advanced knowledge level "Service" (advisory specialists) and "Fruit & Vegetables" (expert training courses) were held.
Sandra Schellenberger from the REWE store in Wriezen:
"I really enjoyed the 'Meat advisory specialist' seminar. At the beginning, we learnt a lot about meat quality, cutting and cooking methods, which we then put into practice. We learnt lots of tips and tricks that we can pass on to our customers. This makes it much easier to engage in dialogue, get positive feedback and have many small experiences of success during the day. The seminar also taught me how to present products better, which in turn makes them easier to sell. The great thing about the seminar is that you can immediately put theory into practice. We participants all had different knowledge and learnt a lot from each other."
Cosima Bauer, trainee at the REWE supermarket in Niedernhausen:
"The 'Cheese advisory specialist seminar' had a nice atmosphere and it offered a balanced mix of theory and practice. I particularly liked the fact that we visited a cheese dairy and a dairy. This allowed us to follow the production process of cheese and yoghurt products and deepen our knowledge of the individual products. For example, we learnt more about the ingredients or the fat content of these products. This is helpful as we can also pass this knowledge on to our customers."
Cornelia Reinhold-Müller from the REWE supermarket in Ludwigsburg:
"The seminar 'Counselling Specialist Sausage' exceeded my expectations: The theoretical content was immediately put into practice. For example, how to lay the slabs and how to use our technology correctly, i.e. how to grind the sausage machine properly. The visit to the Wilhelm Brandenburg meat plant in Gäufelden provided important new insights for our products on the counter. My team and our customers now benefit from this newly acquired knowledge. Our course instructors were inundated with questions, which they answered with great dedication and expertise. The intensive dialogue with other colleagues and the team of course instructors was additional motivation for me to master the tasks in the store."
Patrick Schauder from the REWE store in Düsseldorf-Bilk:
"The fruit and vegetable department is very diverse. You can be creative there, for example by adapting the placement of goods to the respective season. The expert training courses at the 'Fruit & Vegetables' level helped me to gain even more background knowledge. The suppliers take time for all participants and demonstrate a lot of things about their products themselves. For example, you learn how the prices of some items are calculated and what to look out for when buying fruit and vegetables. Of course, you can pass this knowledge on to your customers. Since the seminar, I often walk through my department, notice something and think: Ah, that's what I learnt in the seminar."
Stefan Weiß, Sales Department Management, REWE Markt GmbH in Cologne:
"Knowledge and advisory skills relating to fruit and vegetables as well as the fresh food counters are taught in a needs-based and practice-orientated manner within the Specialist Academy. In this way, we help our customers to experience the best product ranges, the best freshness and the best advice in these strategically important market areas - this is exactly where our customers feel the difference."
Andreas Gutt, Management HR, REWE Markt GmbH in Cologne:
"With the Specialist Academy, we offer our employees career prospects and thus increase their loyalty to REWE. Knowledge of individual product groups can be deepened step by step, so that there is something for everyone: from (lateral) entrants to employees with professional experience."
