“It was such a great experience!”
Julia Stachel and Laura Scheiber completed their training as industrial mechanics at Liebherr-Verzahntechnik GmbH at the beginning of 2024. During their training period, they spent four weeks at the Liebherr plant in Yongchuan, China in August 2023. Here they explain what made them choose China, their experience there and what it is like to suddenly have lots of people wanting to take a picture with you!
Why did you decide to go to China?
Laura: We figured that it was a great opportunity to travel to China, which might not have been so easy if it wasn’t to do with work.
Julia: We had spoken to some more experienced trainees and fully trained specialists, and we just thought we’d like to try that too.
How did the assignment go?
Julia: It was a bit nerve-wracking at first, but everything worked out well in the end. Liebherr was really helpful with organizing the formalities and booking the flights. Getting there was completely unproblematic. During our stay, the plant manager Mr. Angerer and the colleagues on-site made a lot of time for us and looked after us very well.
Laura: At the beginning, we tried to just go with the flow. We were quite surprised that English is not very widely spoken in the region. But we still managed to communicate quite well.
What is the most important thing you have gained from this experience?
Laura: Don’t overthink it too much – just go for it. Somehow it will all work out.
Julia: We are definitely more courageous and have more self-confidence.
What was the highlight of your time in China?
Laura: That we were also able to contribute on a professional level. For example, we were able to use our knowledge from Kempten to help optimize the assembly of a plastic chain conveyor.
Julia: A lot of people wanted to take photos of us or take a selfie with us – that took a bit of getting used to. But actually, the whole time in China was a highlight – it was such a great experience!
