26th trainee day at the Strandhotel Duhnen

The trainee day is an integral part of training at the Strandhotel Duhnen and offers junior staff the opportunity to take on responsibility and get to know all facets of event organisation in a practical way, from the initial idea to implementation.

Numerous invited guests, including mainly families, friends and teachers from the vocational schools, took the opportunity to gain an authentic insight into the work and life of the trainees. In an open and cordial atmosphere, visitors and trainees quickly got talking. In particular, the active participation in the programme items on offer showed the great interest in the training occupations.

“It is particularly important to us to give parents an insight into their children’s training and to show transparently what our trainees do on a daily basis,” emphasised Annette Kamp, Human Resources Manager. “The Trainee Day is an ideal opportunity for this.”

Training you can touch

The trainees themselves were at the centre of the day: In various workshops, they presented their day-to-day work in a practical and interactive way. Guests were able to mix their own drinks at the cocktail workshop, prepare a dessert in the kitchen or learn more about the hotel’s 130-year history on a guided tour.

The programme was complemented by an entertaining quiz on the hotel’s history, in which attractive prizes were raffled off.

“The Trainee Day was a great, successful event. I am very pleased that I was able to help plan and organise this day. The day is definitely the highlight of my current apprenticeship,” reports Max Hildebrand, second-year hotel management trainee and apprentice spokesperson. “The support from our sponsors, who helped make this day possible, was also particularly valuable for us.”

Diversity that you could see and taste

One particular highlight was the international focus of the trainee day. Trainees from countries such as Morocco, Kurdistan, Zimbabwe, Nepal and Vietnam presented their origins not only in personal conversations, but also in culinary terms.

Guests were able to sample typical national specialities at various stands – an experience that appealed to all the senses. This was supported by traditional clothing, which also made the day a colourful visual experience.

“The trainee day was a really interesting experience for me. I had the opportunity to present my home country and also learn lots of exciting things about the other trainees’ countries,” says Tra Mi Nguyen, a first-year trainee from Vietnam.

This diversity is also reflected in the entire team at Strandhotel Duhnen: employees from a total of 21 nations characterise everyday life at the hotel. Events such as the trainee day impressively demonstrate how enriching this togetherness is.

Culinary diversity as a lived conceptLearning for professional life

In addition to the content-related impressions, the learning aspect was the main focus for the trainees. From the initial idea to the planning, implementation and follow-up, the responsibility was largely in their hands.

“I think that an event like this is a great opportunity for trainees to learn what it’s like to prepare, organise and follow up an event in terms of time, content and costing,” explains HR officer Dana Veh. “The trainees learn how to manage resources and grow together as a team.”

A special day with a lasting impression

What made the trainee day special was the tangible sense of community: all the trainees worked closely together, supported each other and overcame short-term challenges together.

Hotel Director Kristian Kamp was impressed by the implementation: “The Trainee Day was colourful in every respect. The different stands, the traditional costumes and the culinary impressions made the diversity of our team impressively visible. It was exciting to experience the different cultures our trainees come from and how openly this exchange is practised. For me, it was an all-round successful day, one of the best trainee days in the past 26 years, very creative and really something special.”

In the end, the overall conclusion was positive: a day that not only offered insights into training, but also showed how diversity, commitment and team spirit can become a special experience, both for the guests and for the trainees themselves.