On September 2, 2024, the 24 new apprentices and dual students were warmly welcomed at Rutronik by Jeremy Westphalen (Head of HR Development), Laura Engel (Working Student HR Vocational Training), and Meike Schaible (HR Specialist Vocational Training). After getting to know all the apprentices and DH students as well as the Vocational Training team, which organized and accompanied the entire introductory week, the introductory week could begin.

In an open conversation with COO Fabian Plentz, all newcomers were warmly received. This was followed by an extensive company tour, during which we got to know various department heads and content or organizational managers and were able to ask them about their activities. The first day ended with a safety briefing by Sebastian Steiger (Head of Sustainability, Environmental & Management Systems) and an interesting team-building activity in the form of bridge building.

The second day started in the warehouse in Eisingen, where Ms. Engel, Ms. Schaible, and Mr. Polzer (apprentice in freight forwarding and logistics services) awaited us with more exciting team-building activities and games that brought the group even closer together. We then turned our attention to business etiquette. The three contacts taught us important manners and rules of conduct. This was followed by a large warehouse tour, where we gained deep insights into every area of the warehouse, from goods receipt to order picking to packaging. In the afternoon, there were more team-building games on the agenda. The day ended with a presentation on the company's history by Jan Stoll and the introduction of the training guide by Jeremy Westphalen.

The next morning, Ms. Noelle Kugel (HR Specialist Vocational Training) welcomed us again warmly to the company. We then received an exciting IT security training from our colleagues in the IT department, where we were informed about how cybercrime works and how we can protect ourselves from it. After a brief introduction to the intranet "Netronik," the newly introduced Rutronik Rally started, where we had to solve various department-related tasks in small groups throughout the afternoon. This included, for example, recording an Instagram reel in the marketing department, driving a remote-controlled robot from Rutronik System Solution through an obstacle course, or conducting serious sales talks in the Global Key Account.

The fourth day was all about team building. In the Wildpark in Pforzheim, we could either climb in the high ropes course or alternatively do archery. In addition, team-building activities in the form of group exercises were carried out with the trainer Mr. Jochen Enke.

After this exciting morning, we went to the sports field of 1. FC Ispringen for the rest of the day. After lunch, the Rutronik Games started, which were the continuation of the Rutronik Rally from the previous day. At a total of eight stations, the various groups could collect more valuable points. The Rutronik Games ended with a final joint game. At the end, the points from the Rutronik Rally and the Rutronik Games were added up and evaluated. The winning team was rewarded with a voucher for the ice cream parlor "Eisbibione" in Ispringen. The evening ended with a pizza evening and nice conversations, which CFO Dr. Gregor Sommer also joined.

On the last day, we received our IT equipment, which included a laptop, a keyboard, a headset, a mouse, and a Rutronik laptop bag. Marius Gurrath (Specialist HR Development) then gave us an introduction to the training platform "Rutronik E-Academy" and the various Office programs. The day ended with a final quiz, in which we were divided into two groups and asked about the content learned during the introductory week and general topics. Finally, we had the opportunity to give feedback on the past days. All our open questions were answered by the Vocational Training team, and thus we were well prepared for our start at Rutronik.