The municipality of Hallbergmoos has been cooperating with Recrewt, a matching platform for companies and young people looking for apprenticeships, for over a year now. A lot has happened in the meantime: the Recrewt app was integrated as a webpage on the Hallbergmoos municipal website as part of a pilot project and has already matched 59 applications with companies in Hallbergmoos. Next, the founders of Recrewt are planning to integrate videos in order to better communicate the job to young people looking for work.
Interim results: Three schools, 338 pupils and 59 applications
For a year now, pupils from Hallbergmoos have been able to playfully approach their dream job in Hallbergmoos via the Recrewt app and online platform. The tool has been well received by young people, companies and schools alike, as the figures show: 338 pupils from Hallbergmoos secondary school, Freising business school and Erding girls’ secondary school have taken part in trainee matching so far. The result: 59 applications to companies in Hallbergmoos. Alexander Mademann, business promoter for the municipality of Hallbergmoos, is delighted, but still sees great potential in the companies: “In times of a shortage of skilled workers, it is important to inform pupils about local apprenticeships and companies in Hallbergmoos at an early stage. The keen interest shown by pupils in the companies shows that the cooperation with Recrewt is working well. Our aim is to make the variety of professions in Hallbergmoos visible and to train and retain the skilled workers of tomorrow here.”
Pedagogy, hard work, technical know-how and target group-oriented advertising
Behind the success of Recrewt in Hallbergmoos is a lot of pedagogy, work and technical know-how: the playfully designed, AI-based app is constantly being developed and introduced to the pupils through classroom visits. In this way, the young people learn how to use the technical and professional opportunities on site. Bianca Kujath, qualified social pedagogue and co-founder of Recrewt: “The school tours are a lot of networking work and the basis for using Recrewt. This is where we reach the pupils best. But parents are also important to us, as they have a significant influence on career guidance. To lower the hurdles for this target group and make the tool accessible to them, we inform them with posters that contain QR codes.”
An app that continues to evolve
As with advertising, Recrewt is keen to design the app to suit the target group. The visually simple and playful design of the app is complemented by a raspberry emoji that explains questions and guides users through the entire process from creating a profile to applying. According to Recrewt, the app will receive several updates in the near future. These changes are based on the experience the Recrewt team has gained from the classroom visits. Bianca Kujath: “Thanks to the constant exchange with the students, we know where the sticking points are where the process becomes difficult. We will also be focusing more on audiovisual content in future. Job descriptions are often unwieldy and difficult to understand. We want to change that with short videos.”
Best practice: two new trainees for the Mövenpick Hotel Munich Airport
The success of the tool is proven by best practice examples, such as that of the Mövenpick Hotel München Airport in the Munich Airport Business Park: two trainees have already been placed via Recrewt within the first year. Lisa-Marie-Schöneich, HR and Training Manager at the Mövenpick Hotel München Airport, is particularly pleased about this: “Not only we, but also our new trainees have benefited greatly from Recrewt. They came to us as interns via the tool and thus had the opportunity to get a taste of all areas of hotel work before they started their training. Thanks to this door opener, we have gained two trainee hotel management assistants who we hope will stay with us in the long term.”
Further pilot projects in Hallbergmoos
In the meantime, the municipality of Hallbergmoos is looking forward to further pilot projects with Recrewt. For example, the matching tool has been integrated into a website. Interested parties can access it directly via the Hallbergmoos municipal website. However, this will not be the only test balloon. In consultation with Recrewt, dual study programs were integrated into the tool. With a view to new sectors, such as biotechnology, the municipality of Hallbergmoos would also like to integrate general courses of study and alumni in the future.
Expectation management for students and companies
So while the municipality of Hallbergmoos is thinking long-term, Bianca Kujath would also like the companies to do the same: “During the school tours, the pupils are often still two years away from applying for an apprenticeship. But companies that pick up the young people at an early stage are there for them when it counts. So the effect comes a little later, but the investment definitely pays off.” The change in the labor market is making itself felt elsewhere. According to current statistics from the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB ), 29.5 percent of training contracts are terminated prematurely. According to Kujath, this is a problem that can be solved by clearing up misunderstandings: “Companies and young people need to take a big step towards each other. Companies need to understand that it is important to be visible to students who won’t start an apprenticeship for another two years. On the other hand, young people must be prepared to take on tasks that they are not so happy to do. After all, apprenticeship years are not master years.” Recrewt therefore talks to pupils at schools who have already decided on certain professions in order to prepare them mentally for working life.
You can find more information on topics relating to Hallbergmoos companies in the Business menu.
Images (c) RECREWT GmbH
