Internships: How wienerberger Promotes Young Talent

“By the end of my internship, it was very clear to me that I wanted to stay,” says Sinan Dersim Dilecki. The young Turk gained his first work experience at wienerberger around five years ago. Annika Annus also wanted to find new challenges. The 23-year-old is using her internship in Learning & Development to support people in their personal development and to motivate them to engage in lifelong learning. 

From communicating with HR managers in different countries and preparing the new training catalogue to promoting learning and development programs – Annika Annus is passionate about everything she does. For example, as an intern for Learning & Development at wienerberger, she and her team organize training sessions at headquarters. For the travel enthusiast from Estonia, one of the best things about these events is “that they bring together staff from so many different countries from the World of wienerberger. The breadth of their experience and the different perspectives they offer is hugely enriching.”

Sinan Dersim Dilekci also appreciates the international environment. The IT Service Manager is a member of wienerberger’s Digital Workplace team. “From Poland to India to Columbia – there are people from eight different countries in my team alone. We all work together and communicate with one another at eye level,” says Sinan, who holds a Master’s degree in Integrative Urban Development. In 2018 he started at wienerberger on a one-year internship. During this period, he finished his degree and then decided to stay on at the company. His mission: To create a digitally advanced workplace for his colleagues. This boosts productivity, fosters effective collaboration and creates space for fresh approaches. 

Annika sees her internship as an opportunity to prove herself by taking responsibility for her own projects and bringing them to a successful conclusion. “Of course, my team is always there in the background to provide support,” she stresses. Annika has a degree in Leisure and Events Management and sees learning as an important part of professional and working life. As a volunteer and mentor within the Scouts organization, she also passes on her passion for empowering young people with skills to be active global citizens and create a better world. Sinan too constantly hones his skills, “My work is my playground, where I can develop my technical knowledge and skills.” The 31-year-old sees the fast-moving nature of IT as a welcome challenge. He makes sure he is always on top of developments so he can reprioritize his to-do lists accordingly.

As an IT Service Manager Sinan has a broad remit with responsibilities ranging from change and incident management to the ongoing improvement of applications such as Microsoft Teams and the Intranet. He ensures that services run smoothly and with the latest technology. “My team trusted me from the outset. When I wanted to take on more responsibility during my internship, I was given it,” says Sinan. He reveals, “Although I am responsible for digitalizing our working environment, I actually enjoy working in the office most because of the great atmosphere.” 

The core of the application process is an assessment center, during which both sides get to know one another in individual and group exercises or by “speed dating” with managers. Once applicants have been accepted, they all start at the company at the same time if possible. This creates a special team spirit.

The onboarding process always includes meetings with members of the management board and a guided tour of a production site. But even before Annika had explored brick production, she was keen to learn more about the world of pipes. On a brief trip home, she therefore contacted the Pipelife team in Estonia to get to know the piping business. One of the things Annika finds especially positive is that “at wienerberger we are all connected. So it feels perfectly natural to go and visit my colleagues in my home country and introduce myself to them personally.”

“From teamwork in a pub quiz or friendly encounters in the corridor – there is a great sense of community among the interns and with our co-workers,” says Annika. “For example, we interns regularly have lunch and hang out together. It is nice to share our experiences with one another.” As a soccer fan, Sinan compares notes with other employees via MS Teams. And they get together for a match on a weekly basis. 

As a hobby chef, Sinan enjoys trying out new recipes, but he is also interested in innovating at work. One of the things he is especially passionate about is enabling staff members who have no knowledge of programming to create useful applications themselves – for example, to automate processes and increase productivity. Annika also follows her passion: To inspire people and bring them together. Thanks to her internship in Learning & Development she knows better, “That this is the field I want to keep developing in.” And she is glad to have the chance to do that with wienerberger.