Jan-Ole Süß, a trained retail merchant, found his way to REWE via a roundabout route. "I've always been interested in retail," he says. That's why he initially took up a sales degree programme, which he dropped out of shortly afterwards. Shortly afterwards, he began working full-time at the REWE Döffinger store in Neuenstein, where he became aware of the cooperative's training programme. Originally, he always wanted to go to university, but his colleagues encouraged him to take the practical route: "You simply lose a lot of practice during your studies."

Thanks to REWE's school-leaver programme, Jan-Ole completed his training in a year and a half while continuing to work in the store - and taking on management tasks. He found support from his trainer and boss, Michael Döffinger, who recognised his potential early on and still encourages him today. The rest of his colleagues also treated him as an equal. "Everyone accepted me for who I am and recognised my ambitions. Nobody reduced me to 'just' being an apprentice," explains Jan-Ole.

Since graduating in March 2024, he has been leading a team of 65 employees as a store manager in his training branch. He is also currently completing further training in retail and taking part in competitions such as "fitfortrade", in which he is already among the top 50. "It's been a long time since someone from REWE has won. My goal is therefore to win."

Jasna Uzicaninstarted as a mini-jobber at the REWE supermarket when she was 16 and immediately felt at home there. After completing her vocational baccalaureate and working there part-time for a year, she decided to train as a retail clerk. She is currently completing a second apprenticeship as an office management assistant at the REWE head office in Rosbach in order to "learn more about the processes behind the scenes".

"It quickly became clear to me that I wanted to stay with REWE. I found my apprenticeship varied because I was able to take on many different tasks. I particularly liked the teamwork, we supported each other and overcame challenges together. That made everyday working life special for me.at the store, I also learnt how to deal with people, take responsibility and stay calm even in stressful situations. These experiences now help me a lot in the office, especially when it comes to organisation and working with the team.

My personal highlight was the contact with customers. Many regular customers almost became acquaintances over time, we talked about everyday things and were simply happy to see each other. These interpersonal moments made everyday working life special.

I would recommend an apprenticeship at REWE because you gain a lot of practical experience, work in a strong team and have good development opportunities. I particularly like the fact that you can develop individually within the company."

Bianca Löffler is a personnel officer and "interface" between the REWE Süd HR Competence Centre, the store trainees and, of course, her trainers in northern Bavaria.she is always impressed by their commitment and social skills :

"What I enjoy most is the interaction with the young people, the seminars for trainees and for their trainers, as well as mediating between the two when necessary.

I am always impressed by the commitment of the trainers to their trainees. The demands on them and on us as a training company have changed a lot. The trainers take care of grades and exam nerves, provide tutoring and offer comfort in times of heartache. Because you mustn't forget: Apprentices are usually very young people who are not always able to separate their professional and private lives. That's why we attach great importance to the social skills of our trainers. After all, the younger generation, which usually receives immediate feedback on social media, also needs much more feedback in a work context. However, what they often still need to learn is self-reflection. Training has therefore changed along with the trainees. This means for me and the HR Competence Centre: We are increasingly offering trainers workshops for their target group. The trainee seminars focus on knowledge transfer. These seminars are also so valuable because they are a great way for trainees to network and develop a sense of community. Another plus point in favour of training at REWE is certainly the guarantee of being taken on if you perform well.

We are often asked to act as mediators when there are disagreements between trainees and supervisors. However, we always encourage the trainees to seek dialogue before we intervene. Because that's also part of growing up."