Training company SIGMA Chemnitz
Interview: Apprentice IT specialist for application development
Name: Daniel Härtel
Age: 20
School-leaving qualification: A-levels
Occupation: IT specialist for application development in the 3rd year of training
Department: AutoID / RFID Software Development GRAIDWARE
Why did you choose SIGMA Chemnitz as your training company?
I applied to SIGMA Chemnitz because I have been interested in computers and programming since my school days. I already liked the working atmosphere during a work placement at the company, so I decided to start my training here.
How did your training go so far?
In the first half of my apprenticeship, I got to know the different departments of the company. I gained insights into the different business processes, mostly with direct practical relevance. For example, in sales I was allowed to prepare the technical set-up for an event, in marketing I was allowed to create a video to present one of our tracking solutions (RTLS) or I was able to see our systems in action at the customer's site.
For software developers, programming is the focus of their work - what about that?
As a software developer, it's good to get an insight into what else is involved in customer projects around programming and to understand the processes for which you are developing the software, rather than just being familiar with the source code. However, software development is of course the main focus of this training. For this, I learned programming in C#, how to deal with databases using SQL and other software that is used for our solutions and, of course, the AutoID / RFID technology used.
For this, I was allowed to try my hand at small tasks of customer projects from the first year of my apprenticeship, whereby I was always supported by my colleagues when I needed help. This allowed me to expand my knowledge so that I now work directly on customer orders.
How do you rate the working atmosphere, especially in your department?
During my departmental rotation, I found the working environment in the entire company to be pleasant. My tasks were always well explained to me, so that I could complete them with the aim of learning something. So far, I have got on well with all my colleagues and have been treated with respect.
What's next for you after your apprenticeship?
After completing my training, I will continue to work as a software developer in the AutoID / RFID department. I would like to continue to apply and deepen the skills and knowledge I learned during my apprenticeship in customer projects and in the further development of GRAIDWARE.
This interview was conducted in February 2021.