How do trainee-programmes build the bridge to integrate graduates into the working world?

Bachelorarbeit von Melanie Fliedner

Abstract:

Keywords in contemporary Human Resource Management are teamwork, leadership, motivation, reward-systems etc. in order to add value to the company and to improve the companies’ activities according to the organisational structure. For us raised the question how Human Resource is going to add value in earlier stages of an employee’s development: recruiting and training pay special attention to the period of the entrance of employees into the company.

This first period of integration into the working world has to be discovered carefully especially for graduates: the first working time is important for them, in order to bridge the gap between the theoretical and practical knowledge, when they come from university. It also has a huge impact on social issues.

We recognised the integration into the working world as a process consisting of three major steps:

- recruitment – recruitment and selection attract and find the most qualified and suitable people, which is the first step to organisational effectiveness.

- trainee-programme – gaining skills, knowledge and attitudes in order to improve organisational performance.

- career-development – planned process of an employee’s position and the way to go there in a certain period of time in order to increase his/her personal job performance and thus to increase organisational performance.

These three steps were guidance for our theoretical framework where we introduced used concepts, methods and tools and explained how they are interrelated and build around trainee-programmes in order to integrate graduates into the working world. Regarding the training of graduates, the importance of social issues in terms of the creation of a comfortable environment was shown. Special emphasise is herebygiven to communication between the different parties involved.

Since the empirical data-collection and the resulting processes have been evaluated, a focus is laid on the trainee-programmes, because the graduate is already a participant in the company. The data were collected in three financial institutions in Italy, Germany and Sweden. It was conducted with the use of focused interview, in order to get information regarding the different dimensions of trainee-programmes on the perspective of the company and the trainees.

At once the empirical data had been collected. The analysis was carried out by matching the found empirical data with the theoretical framework to point out the different approaches to trainee-programmes and the integration in the three countries. We noticed a general correspondence between the theoretical framework and the empirical data out of the interviews in the companies.

The structure of the theory-chapter was guidance for the analysis before we discussed the integration in each country with a resulting comparison. Our findings were added by arguments about the individual countries we introduced in the chapter about international differences.

We recognised three different approaches to trainee-programmes referring to the countries. The three approaches are characterised by a combination of different needs, requirements and purposes of the trainee-programmes in the countries with different effort and initiation by the companies.

The Italian trainee-programme is characterised by a successive integration based on the companies’ values, culture and way of doing business.

The German trainee-programme integrates the trainees by providing different kinds of network what makes them feeling involved and presents several possibilities to develop inside the company.

The Swedish trainee-programme integrates through offered international and thus overall insights.

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