Survival Kit for Vocational Training  “If you experience this kind of thing, it completely changes the way you think”

Dunja, 24, is training to be a childcare assistant in Saarland after completing a Voluntary Social Service Year. In our “Survival Kit for Vocational Training” she tells us how she became a support person for refugee families.

The biggest cliché about your apprenticeship – and to what extent it’s true:

When I tell people that I work as a childcare assistant, many of them immediately think that I’m cutting and gluing paper and cardboard all day. Unfortunately this profession isn’t regarded very highly in today’s society – even though we have so much responsibility. Of course we do cutting and gluing activities with the kids some of the time, but that isn’t even a fraction of the job a childcare assistant does.
 
What’s your normal daily routine?

I either go to work – until 6 pm – or to college. In the early stage of my vocational training I’m spending the whole year at school, with an internship of eight weeks, which is what I’m doing at the moment. As I’ve got a brother aged six, I spend a large amount of my spare time with him.
 
What could you not have done without in your apprenticeship?

Working with people. My father runs a car company and I’ve been helping in the office there for a long time. That’s how I realised early on that I prefer working with people rather than sitting at a desk all day.
 
Which day of your apprenticeship will you never forget?

Before I did my current training I did a Voluntary Social Service Year (FSJ) in a children’s day care centre, in which, beginning in 2016, I looked after a group of refugees. There were plenty of unforgettable and very emotional moments for me. Because I was the only one in the day care centre who could speak Arabic, I was also the only support person for many of the asylum seekers. There were several deportations. People were turning to me in this kind of situation in particular. If you experience this kind of thing, it completely changes the way you think. You learn to value lots of things more and are happy if you can just help. What would you do differently if you could start your apprenticeship all over again?

Nothing.
 
What was the biggest challenge?

Because the work is very stressful emotionally, I often find it difficult not to cry in front of the parents or children.
 
What do you do to switch off and enjoy some “me” time?

I like doing sport to get rid of stress, or online shopping.
 
Where can one find you when you’re not at work?

I enjoy visiting friends or going to the gym.
 
What’s your takeaway so far for the future?

So far, my training has shown me that every individual is special in their own way. Additionally, you should always help wherever help is needed. Everyone reaches this stage at some point, and it shouldn’t matter where they’re from or which religion they believe in.