Industrial Clerk

An interview with two trainees, Tabea Acker and Celine Hundeloh, who have been undergoing the three years of training as industrial clerk at Superior Industries since 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Why did you choose to train in this occupation?

Tabea Acker: Because this training gives me the opportunity to gain experience of as many departments of an industrial company as possible. As an industrial clerk, I can go on to work in practically any sector of industry and any administrative business unit. In addition, the diverse departments, from Purchasing through to Marketing, provide me with an excellent basis for deciding what I would actually like to do in my future career.

Celine Hundeloh: The profession of industrial clerk entails a great variety of tasks and I have the chance to go in various directions after training. It is very helpful to me that I can gain interesting insights into numerous different departments during the training and acquire a broad knowledge.

What is the most important content of your training?

Celine Hundeloh: It’s primarily about production processes, purchasing, sales including sales negotiations, marketing strategies, and accounting. Every three months, we spend six weeks at the vocational school in Ludwigshafen. This combination of theoretical and practical phases allows us to put what we learn at the vocational school directly into practice.

Which departments do you work in?

Tabea Acker: I have worked in the Shipping Office, Accounting, OEM Sales, which involves looking after the major automotive manufacturers among our customers, Aftermarket Sales, and Purchasing departments. My last department is Marketing.

Celine Hundeloh: I am currently in the Marketing department, before which I went through all areas of Aftermarket Sales and Purchasing. I have yet to work in OEM and Accounting.

What typical tasks do you perform in the departments?

Celine Hundeloh: In Sales, I had the particular task of recording customer purchase orders and talking to our customers on the phone to help them choose the appropriate alloy wheel for their vehicle. This meant that I very quickly gained a knowledge of our products and it was a great way to start my training. In the Purchasing department, my primary task was to process purchase orders on the basis of purchase requisitions from colleagues. In Marketing, I monitor the social media channels, plan postings, talk to service providers, make photos available to customers, and assume general responsibility for day-to-day business.

Which tasks have you particularly enjoyed performing?

Celine Hundeloh: I most enjoyed the tasks in Marketing and Sales. In both of these departments, there is a certain degree of consistency with regard to the manner of work, but at the same time great variety in terms of content.

Tabea Acker: The tasks I enjoyed most were all those where I could input ideas of my own and was allowed to assume responsibility for subtasks myself.

What direction do you plan to take after completing your training?

Tabea Acker: I intend to continue working in the area of marketing.

Celine Hundeloh: I would very much like to work as an industrial clerk at Superior Industries after my training.

Which do you prefer?

Celine Hundeloh
• Coffee or tea?
Both.
• Mountains or the ocean?
Mountains by the ocean.
• Cooking for yourself or getting a delivery?
Cooking and baking myself.
• Sports car or SUV?
Sports car.

Tabea Acker
• Coffee or tea?
Tea.
• Mountains or the ocean?
Ocean.
• Cooking for yourself or getting a delivery?
Cooking for myself.
• Sports car or SUV?
Sports car.

What is your hobby?

Tabea Acker: In the summer I play tennis.

Celine Hundeloh: Ever since my time at school, I have sung and played the guitar. I spent several years singing in a choir and playing in a guitar orchestra
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