A stay abroad and a traineeship are challenges that go far beyond everyday life for young people. Under good general conditions they can successfully be mastered. The trainees must be able to live independently, yet receive support locally for their integration. That is SIM Europe’s trainee care concept.

Care begins as soon as the trainee’s CV arrives. We don’t contact companies until we have this basis. Four weeks before arrival we contact the trainees via skype and extensively discuss their expectations with regard to their stay abroad and their company with regard to their vocational skills.

Regular information about living and working in Pforzheim and in Germany are sent per mail until the trainee arrives. One week before arrival the trainees are informed about their accommodation and simultaneously about the chosen company and the envisaged work contents for the traineeship.

On the day of arrival we pick the trainees up from the railway station at 6 pm. They receive a welcome kit with important information and are then accompanied to their accommodation. On request we can organise an airport pickup at Stuttgart, Baden-Baden or Frankfurt.

On the first programme day the SIM Europe trainer responsible outlines the course of events and explains about local transport, accommodation rules, leisure activities and other things that will contribute to making the stay in Pforzheim a personal and vocational success.

After that they all go on a tour of Pforzheim so the trainees can find their bearings and get to know shopping possibilities.

The German language course begins in the afternoon and during the first week encompasses four lessons each lasting 45 minutes. Depending on prior language knowledge the focus lies on active speaking and amongst other things preparing for the traineeship interview in the company. Prior to the interview we conduct a conversation with the trainee to attune his expectations to the traineeship. Toward the end of the first week the traineeship lasts for half a day and as of the second Monday it is full-time.

If no language course has been booked, the traineeship interview takes place in the company on the second or third day and on the following day the full-time traineeship begins.

After the first day in the company the SIM Europe trainer visits the trainee there and checks out the progress made together with the company tutor.

During the subsequent time we contact the company regularly and intervene immediately, if necessary, to solve any problems.

On the penultimate day we hold an appraisal session at SIM Europe in which the experiences made in the company and in Pforzheim are discussed. In the course of a buffet the company reference and the mobility pass are handed over to the trainee.

SIM Europe and the trainer responsible are available at a weekly after-work consultation. In the case of an emergency a 24 hour emergency mobile telephone number is activated.

On request we can organise an additional cultural programme which for example involves an excursion to Strasbourg, the Porsche museum in Stuttgart, to Heidelberg or the Black Forest. (Further information here: cultural programme).

Our partners abroad are regularly informed about the current status – from the arrival in Pforzheim through settling in to the traineeship start and its progress.