The right mentor can help you find your best self
Jürgen Breu, national winner 2019 in the performance competition "Professionals do something" of the Central Association of German Skilled Crafts, about his training and his most important teaching points for trainees in the creative industry.
In December 2019, the final award ceremony for the national winners took place as part of the "Professionals do something" competition, organised by the Central Association of German Skilled Crafts. From 3000 national participants in the competition, the best 110 from the respective trades were selected and duly celebrated at the closing ceremony in the Wiesbaden Congress Center.
Jürgen Breu, national winner in the print/digital media designer trade and employee of the Fliegl AgroCenter in Kastl, Upper Bavaria, was one of them. "It is an outstanding pleasure to receive such confirmation of the hard work and passion in the profession," recalls the 25-year-old. In 2016, he began his training as a media designer at the Alois Senefelder Vocational School in Munich. Turning his already existing hobby, graphic design, into a profession gave him the opportunity to grow beyond himself both professionally and personally. An apprenticeship was more desirable than studying at a university, as he wanted to enter the work scene directly, according to the motto "learning by doing". The environment played a decisive role in this.
"Thanks to the pure energy and insatiable passion of my instructor Michael March, I was also infected with a real zest for action and learned to think further, to do more and to have higher standards for myself than necessary," Jürgen recalls. "He showed me again and again how important it is to do and try things out, how unpleasant situations ultimately strengthen me and involved me in numerous organizational and strategic processes. This was the only way I was able to develop so enormously in this short time and really recognize my abilities. Without a doubt, this training has completely changed my professional and personal lifestyle for the better."
From the usual media planning and print production to the planning and implementation of a PIM system for fully automated print distribution to the joint conception and support of a comprehensive e-commerce project, Jürgen Breu was able to grow with the tasks and enter into in-depth processes alongside Michael March. Both low blows and a sense of achievement made the training more than just learning the basics of design.
The national victory in the performance competition was the crowning glory of a successful time as a trainee and full-fledged employee of the Fliegl company. Overall, he was able to draw two important learnings for himself that helped him enormously during his training: "First of all, you need a clear direction in the training. Where do I want to go? Do I want to go into design or planning? Do I want to conceptualize or implement, or maybe even both? The world of the media designer opens hundreds of doors, and you have to find out which ones I want to go through. Secondly, I can only recommend looking for a real mentor. Someone with experience who takes you by the hand, pushes you, challenges, criticizes and shapes you. And above all, someone who always stays true to himself and his values and always stands behind you on your journey. The right mentor can help you find your best self."
Jürgen Breu was taken on directly by Fliegl Agro-Center GmbH in February 2019 after a shortened training as a media designer and heads the marketing and e-commerce department with the support of his former trainer Michael March. Both are also currently training three trainees as media designers.
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