After moving to REWE, Antje Brückner and Nadine Johnson were promoted to divisional manager and store manager respectively - even though or because they had originally trained in completely different professions.
Antje Brückner
The path from construction machinery maintenance mechanic to works council member led REWE Süd colleague Antje Brückner via Greece and catering first to the checkout of a REWE store and then to the butcher's shop there. What helped the career changer, who quickly made it into management positions, was her experience from her previous jobs, her willingness to learn - and her star sign.
"Construction machinery maintenance mechanic, that was my career aspiration when I was almost 20. After graduating, I found myself in a company with my forklift licence and two welding passes in my hand. The managing directors said to me: 'I need you now, but unfortunately I can't hire you.' It was a male-only profession back then and the requirements for sanitary facilities were high. He would have had to have a separate toilet and washroom built for me as the only woman. He couldn't afford that. And that was not my only experience: no one would hire a woman in this male profession.
So I went to work for a family in Greece for a year. My only job was to teach the two children German. When I came back to Germany, my brother had already found me a job in catering. Not really my first choice, but once I had learnt the ropes, I very quickly became shift manager and after two years assistant manager. That was around 2002, when the Deutschmark was converted to the euro. Those were golden times in the catering industry, people still thought in Deutschmarks and tipped generously. Of course, that soon came to an end.
In the summer of 2002, I saw a notice in a REWE (then still Minimal) in the centre of Munich: "Employees wanted". I spontaneously went in, applied and got the job. First I worked at the checkout for many years and then in the butcher's shop. Later, with a heavy heart, I moved to another REWE shop as a department manager. I didn't do any training for this. I was able to put my experience from the catering trade to good use in everyday store life: Managing employees, dealing with difficult customers, hygiene regulations - and I was used to stress.
At the time, I had already been a member of the large works council committee for several years before I was elected as a representative for severely disabled employees in 2020. Since 2022, I have been responsible for around 40 REWE and PENNY stores in Munich as an exempted works council member. During the coronavirus pandemic, I spent a year studying to become a communications and rhetoric trainer on my weekends. As I'm a restless twin, I need the variety. The knowledge I gained there helps me in my work on the works council, because communication is my daily bread and butter. As a works council member, I am very happy and grateful for the time I spent working in the store. I understand the concerns of the employees and they in turn perceive me as 'one of us'."
Nadine Johnson
34 years, three children, two professions, 1 equal partnership: Nadine Johnson, a trained hairdresser, now manages a REWE supermarket near Aachen. She has already "infected" her daughter with her love of her profession.
one: Nadine, how long have you been with REWE West?
Nadine Johnson: I am a career changer. I trained as a hairdresser and have been with REWE West since 2019. I started as a temp, went through various positions in the store and am delighted to have been store manager at Sascha Eißmann's store here in Alsdorf since 1 March.
one: Not only are you a career changer and store manager, but you also have three children. How do you do that?
Nadine Johnson: My children are 17, 14 and nine years old. So the two older ones are already out of the woods. And my husband and I divide the household chores and childcare between us. He gets our youngest son ready in the mornings and also takes on parent-teacher conferences in the mornings, for example. Without the support of my husband and the great team here at the store, this would not be possible!
one: What do you like about your job?
Nadine Johnson: For me, it really is more than just a job. I love my work and my team and look forward to coming into the store every day. And that has also rubbed off on my family: My eldest daughter currently works here in the store on Saturdays and starts her training as a retail sales assistant at REWE on 1 August.
