The warehouse is his territory

Finding the right training place is often complicated. It is often even more difficult for people with disabilities. "I tried out different areas, but none of them really appealed to me," says Leander Diembeck. His cousin, who works as a warehouse logistics specialist, introduced him to the profession and after two internships lasting several weeks in various companies, the 17-year-old was hooked. As part of the vocational preparation programme, the Bethel Vocational Training Centre (BBW) was then able to offer him a place on the new warehouse assistant apprenticeship in summer 2024: A perfect match for Leander Diembeck.

After all, the theory-reduced training is very much in line with the young man's reading and spelling difficulties. At the vocational training centre, the young man from Bielefeld finds a protected environment in which he learns all the skills that are important for employment on the primary labour market, taking his personal development into account.

And it works well: after just six months of his two-year apprenticeship, Leander Diembeck is already able to carry out many tasks independently in the in-house warehouse. His working day begins at seven o'clock in the morning with the daily planning: Which orders have been received from which customers? "I collect the goods in the warehouse, pack them into boxes and then distribute the order internally." And if notepads, highlighters or kitchen roll are no longer in stock, Leander Diembeck orders the products himself. His trainer Jerome Kracht only supports him with the payment process.

Because he enjoys manoeuvring with the "Ameise", an electric pallet truck, so much, Leander Diembeck can hardly wait to transport goods through the warehouse with a forklift truck soon: "My trainer wants to take me for my forklift driving licence soon, I'm already looking forward to it. The 17-year-old is aware that he also has good chances on the primary labour market thanks to his committed and reliable nature, but emphasises: "I'm taking the future in my stride for now and want to complete my training as well as possible."

As dedicated as Leander Diembeck is at work, he can also switch off afterwards by gaming or making music. When the teenager, who lives with his parents and two sisters in Bielefeld, is not practising new pieces on the saxophone, he likes to immerse himself in the virtual world by playing simulation games on the PC. For Christmas, he even received the right equipment for even more fictional driving fun in the form of a steering wheel and pedals. The only thing the BBW trainee is still waiting for is a computer game that matches his dream job: "If there was a logistics simulator, that would be pretty cool."

Text: Simon Steinberg | Photo: Matthias Cremer