Plenty of ideas – plus a surprise

In October, the Bell Food Groupʼs apprentice event was held in Magglingen. During the three-day event, all apprentices met and worked on numerous project ideas as part of a competition, and these were presented on the last day to members of upper management and the Group Executive Board. The winning prize for the best project was a city trip.

Magglingen, situated high above the Swiss city of Biel/Bienne with a breathtaking views of the Alps, is the home of the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport, the countryʼs school and training centre for young athletes. For three days in October, however, the focus in Magglingen was for once not on sport but on the apprentices of the Bell Food Group.

Under the motto “tradition versus future”, the apprentices were provided with a glimpse into the Bell Food Groupʼs history through an iPad paperchase and a puzzle game developed especially for the event. This afforded them focus in the context of future Group work. Clever ideas were sought on the topics “training” or “meat and food production industry” – in relation to daily work, vocational training or even products. The apprentices were encouraged to develop project ideas that interested them and that they would like to see implemented. During the event, they were able to develop their ideas with the support of a coach and present them on the last day to nine members of upper management and the Group Executive Board. The best idea was to be rewarded with a city trip valued at CHF 1,000 per group member.

A success by all accounts, because the jury members found it impossible to select just one from so many good ideas and therefore selected two – to the surprise of all. 

This pleased the winners as well as Andreas Begré, Vocational Training Manager for Bell in Switzerland, who organised the event: “I am happy that the apprenticesʼ ideas were found to be of such a high standard and that the jury selected two winners. For me, this indicates good work by the apprentices and appreciation by the management. Showing extraordinary commitment during the apprenticeship period simply pays off. Now we are tasked with the continued work and implementation of these project ideas.”