As part of her apprenticeship for becoming a freight forwarding and logistics professional, Lisa Marie von Appen from our Hamburg office decided to put effort into parallelly gaining the additional qualification of becoming an “European business administrator”. Part of this additional qualification is a work-stay abroad for several weeks.
We talked to her about the training and her experiences during her time abroad:
How does the apprenticeship program for becoming a freight forwarding and logistics professional with the additional qualification “European Business administrator” differ from the regular apprenticeship program?
In Hamburg, I’m doing the standard apprenticeship for becoming a freight forwarding and logistics professional. This involves training at Karl Gross and training at a vocational school. At school I have the opportunity to attend a so called “Europe Class.” The difference to a regular school class is that, in addition to our normal set of courses, we have two hours of Spanish per week and are required to complete a five-week internship abroad.
Did you have a choice regarding the country? If so, how did you come up with Vietnam?
Actually, when I got the offer to go, I already knew that I wanted to go to Asia. I talked to several colleagues who had already been to Vietnam and reported so many positive things. And if you look at the current economic development in Vietnam, it was exactly the right decision. The country is booming, especially in freight forwarding in exports. In addition, Vietnam has a super interesting history and culture, which you can experience much more closely when you live and work there.
How long did the stay last?
I was in Vietnam for a total of 5 weeks. Most of the time, I spent in Ho Chi Minh City and I was also in Hanoi for a few days.
How did the organization work in advance via the vocational school and the company?
The vocational school specified the possible period and the minimum length of the internship. For us, that was five weeks. Together with Karl Gross, we organized everything else. Karl Gross booked the hotel and the flights for me. Afterwards, with the support of my colleagues here in Germany and my colleagues in Vietnam, I organized my visa..
What expectations did you have when you started the journey?
I tried not to have too many expectations for this trip. Of course, I wanted to gather as many impressions as I could and take as many experiences with me as possible. I wanted to get to know the work culture there. I wanted to know how the processes here in Germany differ from those in Vietnam or to what extent they are similar. Overall, I wanted to get an insight into the “working world of Vietnam"" to understand what the work we do looks like in other places.
Did you feel well received in the team from the beginning?
The Vietnamese culture is a very open and warm culture. From the very first day on, my colleagues there brought breakfast, lunch and dinner for me. Hospitality is expressed a lot by having meals together. Nevertheless, in the beginning it was difficult to settle in. It's just a different culture that you have to get to know first. But over time, I made friends with whom I also did things outside of working hours. (Mainly going out to eat )
What was an average working day like during your time there?
My hotel was right next to our office building, so I could always sleep in quite late in the morning and have breakfast until I had to be at the office at 8:30 a.m.
In the office, I usually spent the first hour organizing my notes from the previous day and checking to see if I had any questions which I would like to clarify. After that, I would usually sit down with a colleague and watch him or her work while he or she explained the individual steps to me. We often talked about the differences between Germany and Vietnam. I took lots of notes.
We always had lunch at 12:00 p.m. For lunch, I often went to a food court in the shopping center next to our office with my colleagues. There, I tried out all kinds of restaurants. In Vietnam, it’s normal to take a nap after lunch until 1:30 p.m. My hotel was right next to the office; after lunch, I’d always go back to the hotel for nap time and was back at the office with my coworkers right on time at 1:30 p.m.
Of course, there were times when no one had time for me. In those moments, I’d find out things on my own. At 5:30 p.m., I was allowed to call it a day.
How does the working culture there differ from the one here/in Germany?
The work ethic in Vietnam is very impressive! And just like here, there is a lot of emphasis on team spirit. The teams work together and support each other. Team events are held every few months, with teams from all three locations meeting and spending time together.
Were there any problems with communication there? Possible language barriers?
There were actually more language barriers than I thought. Translator apps helped a lot . After a few days, even that felt totally normal. Translator apps were generally the “lifesaver” in any situation where we didn't quite understand each other.
What was a highlight for you during this time?
To visit a trade fair in Hanoi together with my colleagues from the sales team. It was a trade fair for plastics and machines for plastic processing. Since a lot of things were presented in Vietnamese and also in Chinese language, I couldn't take away much from the trade fair in technical terms, but the experience to see how such a trade fair visit works and what strategies our colleagues in Vietnam pursue when they go to a trade fair was very exciting. As one of the few people at the trade fair who did not come from the Asian region, I was actually approached by some stand operators and was involved in some conversations.
What was the biggest learning for you during your stay?
Don’t be afraid to just talk to people! Even if you don't speak the same language, you can almost always find a way to ask for directions or a recommendation for a good restaurant. I noticed this especially at the fair, where I was approached by many people. Not all of them could speak English and I could only speak a few words of Vietnamese, so we communicated with the help of my colleagues and translators.
Do you have any advice for aspiring trainees who are thinking about doing the same thing as you did?
Be open to new things and don't approach the matter with too many expectations. Especially when you travel to a country that is so different from your own culture, you first have to get to know the country and the people there. It helped me to spend the first week in Vietnam getting to know my colleagues in the office and the working atmosphere, and only then to really think about what I wanted to learn during my stay.
Would you recommend this experience to others?
Absolutely! You don't often get an opportunity like this in life. I was not only able to discover a new country; I was also able to get to know the people there and work with them. I met many new people with whom I am still in contact after my time in Vietnam. I was able to explore a country and at the same time learn something new for the future and my job.