"Meet your future work colleagues at the foosball table!" was the unusual invitation to young people in career orientation. Many responded to this call. They checked in for the "Jobkick Niederrhein" foosball tournament, which took place on 21 September 2024 in the E-Dry Geldern and was organized by the LEADER region "Leistende Landschaft" together with the business development agencies of the municipalities of Kevelaer, Geldern, Straelen and Nettetal. There was a lot going on in the halls, which are otherwise reserved for the night-time party crowd.
Over 250 people came together at Jobkick Niederrhein: 44 well-positioned, exciting companies from a wide range of sectors as well as numerous pupils, parents and individual teachers. A total of 170 matches between companies and potential future trainees were registered; of course, there were also further discussions. Making contacts, finding their bearings, getting into conversation, securing an internship or two for the vacations, ... the wishes of the young guests were very diverse. The companies were delighted at the clear interest shown by all those who found their way to the event, often accompanied by a parent. "The focus should be on the quality of the contacts. We were definitely able to score points here," explained Antonia Cox from the organizing agency Pottlike Media and sees this as confirmation that the event was not designed as a compulsory school program. The balls were flying in all corners of the E-Dry. The Wunschkonzert team created the right atmosphere with an atmospheric lighting concept and DJ. "We kept walking through the halls to see whether the young guests were having a good time talking to the companies. It quickly became clear that the concept was working and no one was lost in the aisles. The company employees present did a great job and actively invited the guests to join in the fun." There was a lot of laughter, the atmosphere was relaxed and sociable. There was never a dull moment.
"Of course we would have been happy to see a lot more people looking for apprenticeships, we don't have to wrap our hands around it!" says Ute Neu, Managing Director of the LEADER region, honestly. Understandable, because the project team had done a lot to get the target group excited about the event: Bus shuttles from all municipalities were offered, prizes for the tournament, attractive accompanying program, free drinks and snacks during the event as well as the option to go to the party in the E-Dry later for free if you are of the right age. In many schools, the young people were even personally informed about the event by the project team. However, it also became clear that it is often not the quantity but the quality of the contacts that counts. For example, the organizers were delighted to see two trainees who had stood at the foosball table for their company and reported enthusiastically and proudly at the end of the event: "Today we made six trainees for our company!" This is communication at eye level and the aim is to build on this in 2025.
An important part of Jobkick Niederrhein was also the opportunity for cross-industry networking between the companies. During the event, not only did the teams get to interact with each other, but the participants also had a lot of fun playing one or two games against each other outside of the tournament. Many of them had already come together the evening before for the impulse and networking evening at the same location. On this evening, Benedikt Tebartz van Elst, representing the Junior Chamber, shared the results of a study on the ideas of the so-called Gen Z with those present. For many, there were concrete points of reference for their own trainee marketing and for personal exchanges with interested parties. In the subsequent interview, job surfer Rieke and Björn Mende presented their experiences in the Jobsurfing project. Rieke had tested ten different professions in 10 weeks on behalf of her age group and reported on her experiences in the social media. Benedikt May, Springboard Marketing/Waldfreibad Walbeck, shared his own trainee marketing strategies with those present and summarized: "It pays to be quick!" In addition to creative additional content in his own training concept, he promoted quick and easy matching channels and warned against putting off giving feedback to young applicants.
The organizers were particularly pleased about the individual teachers who found their way to both parts of the event. "We see great potential in even closer cooperation with teachers in career guidance," says Ute Neu and explains: "We are now going into the evaluation phase, also with the participating companies, local authorities and, of course, the schools. The focus will certainly be on considering how we can work together to get even more apprenticeship seekers interested in the event next year."
The introductory videos of the participating companies will remain available for all interested apprenticeship seekers and young people looking for a career at www.jobkick.app. A really worthwhile overview of committed providers of opportunities in the region - perhaps also for the next school internship.
This innovative format is made possible now and for the next three years by LEADER funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with co-financing from the EU and contributions from the participating municipalities and companies. Following its launch in Geldern, "Jobkick Niederrhein" will also make stops in Straelen, Kevelaer and Nettetal in the coming years. Companies that would like to signal their interest in the 2025 event now are cordially invited to contact the Jobkick team via the project website.