Direct contact with guests at the Tourist Centre counter, organising and running media trips, looking after the Instagram and Facebook social media channels, helping with events, bookkeeping and much more. The work at a tourism organisation is varied. And so the apprentices at Jungfrau Region Tourismus AG (JRT) also benefit from a varied training programme. Here they talk about their day-to-day work. Today we let Orell Duncan Gossweiler have his say. The 17-year-old from Brienz is training to become an HGT E-Profile salesman. He tells us about the first few months of his apprenticeship, which he spent at the Haslital Tourism counter in Meiringen.

"When I started at Jungfrau Region Tourismus AG, I didn't realise how much fun but also frustration customer contact would bring. My name is Orell Duncan Gossweiler and I've been working at the Haslital Tourism counter in Meiringen since the beginning of August 2021. You don't expect the most exciting stories in a tourist office, but I can tell you that I've already learnt a lot about the human psyche in just four months. I would like to tell you a story to show you what a pleasure it can be to work at a tourism desk. Recently, an elderly lady came to me at the counter to enquire about recommended hiking routes. I gave her some general information and she was thrilled. "That's the best information I've had in a long time," she told me. I'm still a bit confused about it to this day, because I did recommend some very beautiful hiking trails to her, but also some very well-known ones that don't need a lot of information. But: this conversation sweetened the rest of the day for me. The kind of customer you'd like to have every day. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Sometimes I have guests at the counter who don't treat me very kindly. I can't give you quotes one-to-one at this point. They simply wouldn't be fit for print.

"Practice makes perfect"

But I'm not complaining, most customers are very nice and courteous. They show understanding when I, as an apprentice, can't do certain jobs as quickly as my work colleagues. After all, I had to learn a lot of work processes at the start of my apprenticeship. For example, how to sell tickets for the mountain railways and the Zentralbahn or how to offer customers professional advice. I have to admit that I struggled a bit with certain tasks at the beginning, but as the saying goes: "Practice makes perfect". Well, I wouldn't call myself a master yet, but I think I'm slowly getting rid of my beginner status. Another thing that suits me is that the apprenticeship offers a lot of variety, so I don't have to be an expert in every area. And that's a good thing. New and exciting tasks keep coming my way. Like right now, for example, when I'm writing this article.

Of all the experiences I've had so far, the trip to Solothurn was the highlight. I was able to promote the Haslital at the Solothurn Autumn Fair (HESO). It was three days that I will remember very fondly, because I did nothing but spend seven hours a day intensively advising customers, telling jokes and simply chatting to people. I even had my own hotel room.

"A team member, not a barista"

Now, while writing this text, I'm realising what a special apprenticeship I've landed. I sometimes hear what others do in a commercial apprenticeship. For some people, it's really just the typical KV clichés: getting the post and making coffee. Of course, I also have these tasks. But they don't take centre stage or define my everyday life. At my current job, I feel like a member of the team and not like a barista or a postman.

So, I think this text is slowly coming to an end. If you are one of the people who have stuck it out this far, thank you for your time. I'll now go back to my tourism desk and hope that a customer comes through the door soon. And if that customer is you, please forgive my inexperience. I am still a trainee.

Jungfrau Region Tourismus AG offers two apprenticeships every year. During the three-year HGT E-profile apprenticeship, the apprentices work for one and a half years each at the head office in Interlaken (marketing/accounting) and in the tourist centres (Grindelwald and either Meiringen or Mürren).