The wide corridors in the entrance area, several large rooms, plus the Hagenbachhalle with its foyer and the outdoor area in front of the Johannes-Brenz-Gemeinschaftsschule in Haller Schulzentrum West: there is something on offer everywhere this Saturday. The pupils have come of their own free will today, and many have their parents or relatives in tow – a small number of the young people are also being dragged around the course by the adults, it seems. “Otherwise my son only stops at the stands where it’s fun or where something is going on,” says Annegret Fleischer and laughs. Filius Paul doesn’t find that quite so funny and immediately insists that he understands how important it is to visit the careers and study fair. “The thing is, I don’t have a plan yet for what I want to do for a job,” admits the 15-year-old.
Some of the stands are also good fun, with prize games and skill games drawing people in.
A particularly wide choice
The event probably offers the greatest choice: 90 exhibitors, both regional and national, are taking part in the fair, and more than 300 training occupations and courses of study such as degree programmes, work placements, the Voluntary Social Year (Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr), dual studies and much more are being presented. The school management can rightly be proud of having organised one of the largest events of this kind run by a school. A great deal of time and effort is clearly visible. Every visitor is warmly welcomed at the entrances, receives one of the well-designed site plans and gets answers to all their questions about this major event. Word has clearly spread beyond the boundaries of Schwäbisch Hall: many cars with number plates from neighbouring districts are parked in the crowded car park, and pupils from other schools have also come to take advantage of the offer. Pia Unhold and Tabea Schlüter are among them. The 14-year-old pupils from the Hohenlohe district have no one with them. “Our mums wanted to come too, but we managed to talk them out of it,” says Pia, giggling. Tabea says it would have been “so embarrassing” if her mum had asked questions. “And in the end I wouldn’t have got a word in, even though it’s all about me,” she says. She roughly knows which direction she would like to go in. She would like to do something with lots of contact with people. “But it’s difficult for me because I don’t have good grades,” she admits – and with “only a Hauptschulabschluss” (lower secondary leaving certificate), she worries that her applications will be filtered out. “We’ll see what comes up,” she says, nevertheless sounding optimistic about talks at the fair, though finding a company or organisation that is interested in her – and whether she is interested in the job – remains to be seen. What stands out on this day: many sectors that are desperately searching for staff are attracting interest from young people at the fair. Pharmacists, for example, complain that they lack staff to cover all shifts, which can include night and weekend hours. “Yes, the interest is definitely there,” explains Janine Leonberger from Qmediko in Schwäbisch Hall. Filling their training and work placement places is currently not a problem for them. At one stand, a girl is busy mixing a sweet-smelling hand cream herself – and is clearly having fun doing it.
Source: Haller Tagblatt
