Nina Ludolf is in her third year of training as an automotive mechatronics technician at the LZPD NRW and normally works at the Wuppertal branch. She swapped her job in the Bergisches Land region for one in Paris for three weeks. Under the motto "Vocational training without borders", Nina Ludolf was given the opportunity to get to know everyday working life in France. Her temporary employer was called "Speedy" and had its workshop in a shopping center in Crétail, in the southeast of the French capital.

Communicating with hands, sounds and translators

The biggest challenge during this professional exchange was the language. Nina Ludolf didn't remember much from her French lessons at school and her colleagues at work spoke neither German nor English. It was possible to exchange a few words or sentences, but for the most part communication was based on hand signals, noises and the use of an interpreter. Nina Ludolf quickly noticed that there was hardly any time for questions or explanations during the exchange:" At the LZPD NRW, I always had the opportunity to ask the master craftsmen and journeymen questions, and they took the time to help me. That didn't happen in France. Perhaps it was because I worked in the private sector and not in the public sector."

A benefit for my own development

In addition to the work in the workshop, the exchange trainees were also offered a varied excursion program. For example, they visited the Museum of Technology and spent a weekend in Normandy. The experience in a foreign country helped her to develop personally and she would recommend such an exchange to all trainees, says Nina Ludolf. Next time, however, she would opt for a smaller, less hectic city in an English-speaking environment.

The entire cost of the exchange was covered by an organization that promotes professional exchange between Germany and France and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education.

Are you interested in training at the LZPD NRW? We offer training in the fields of

• automotive mechatronics
• IT system electronics and
• IT (application development/system integration)

. We always publish the job advertisements for the following year in the fall.