We warmly welcome five administrative assistants, a gardener specializing in horticulture and landscaping, a zoo keeper, two media designers for image and sound, a specialist in market and social research, three emergency paramedics, a trainee civil servant in the intermediate non-technical administrative service and five students in the dual study programs of practical computer science, business informatics, civil engineering and social work to the class of 2023.

Introductory week 01.09. - 08.09.2023

After all new trainees and students were personally welcomed by Lord Mayor Julian Vonarb, there were numerous program points during the induction week. They got to know the city administration as a training company and also what rights and obligations they have as trainees during the training period. 

The exciting history of Gera was told during a guided tour of the old town. Afterwards, they climbed the town hall tower and enjoyed the view over the city.

The excursion to the fire department also took them up high. After a guided tour of Fire Station 1, anyone who wanted to could take the turntable ladder 30 meters up in the beautiful weather.

On Tuesday, everything revolved around the topic of teamwork. Numerous games and exercises helped them to get to know each other as a team and talk openly about their expectations, wishes and fears for the training period.

The staff council and the youth and trainee representatives also used the induction week to introduce themselves to the "newcomers". At the Thuringian Media and Education Center, not only the media designers for image and sound got to know their new place of work, but everyone else also got an insight into this training cooperation partner of the city of Gera and were informed about social media and fake news.

On Thursday, the trainees went to their specialist departments and got to know their contact persons and their future workplace. For the administrative assistants, there was also another tour of the city, but this time to the individual administrative buildings of the specialist departments of Gera City Council, where they will be employed during their three-year training.

After the IT introduction on Friday, the induction week ended with an excursion. Konrad Nickschick, head of the environmental department, took the trainees on a hike through the city forest and explained the areas of responsibility of his department. The hike and the varied introductory week ended at Gera's zoo.