Opportunities, prospects and careers
Status: 01.04.25
At DSW21, we see ourselves as a provider of opportunities. Whether it's helping long-term unemployed people back into working life. Giving people with a history of flight or migration an insight into everyday working life in Germany. Or to give career changers a future in our transport service even without a long period of training.
But what opportunities does DSW21 offer people who already work for the company?
There is actually a lot on offer. From our online learning system to further training and support for part-time studies, our colleagues from HR Development have a lot on offer to open up ways for our employees to develop further - and of course to give them the opportunity to advance professionally.
Participation in the "Dortmunder Cross-Mentoring" programme is something very special. For the sixth time this year, DSW21 is offering employees the opportunity to take part as a mentor or mentee.
The aim is to provide impetus for personal and professional development. To this end, tandems are formed between experienced mentors and mentees who are comparatively at the beginning of their professional careers. The special thing about this is that they each come from different companies and completely different sectors. This year, Amprion, AWO, DEW21, Drees & Sommer, EDG, EMC-Test, Hotel Esplanade, LDC, Materna and Wirtschaftsförderung Dortmund are taking part. In other words, companies that have little in common with DSW21.
Over eighteen months, the pairs have time for regular dialogue, accompanied by seminars and workshops in the group with other cross-mentoring participants.
How the tandems work together is up to them. There are no thematic guidelines. What counts is the respective need. A mentee can benefit from the experience of their mentor when it comes to preparing for an upcoming important meeting or a presentation. As both come from different companies, their own current professional position and career planning can also be scrutinised from an outside perspective.
The mentors also benefit from this. They also gain insights into what work and culture look like in companies and can learn new approaches and perspectives from their (usually younger) mentees.
If both sides have a healthy dose of curiosity and a fundamental openness, then a lot can be gained from mentoring. For personal development, but also for work in the job. In any case, nobody leaves the programme unchanged and without many new ideas.
