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Marco Schmeis, head of a test center: "Suddenly we encountered the virus every day"
Photo: Lars Zumpe
»The training to become a personnel manager was more of a stopgap solution from the start.
Meanwhile, I had to place people in temporary employment, and I didn't feel comfortable with that.
But I was able to get my high school diploma with the training - and I needed that because I wanted to study afterwards.
Preferably business administration, so that I could start my own business one day, that was my plan.
"I liked the prospect of becoming self-employed so quickly."
Marco Schmeis
In May of this year, just before the final exams, the opportunity suddenly arose to implement this plan much earlier.
At the time, I was driving home from vocational school with a friend who told me about a friend who runs a test center.
'People are running into him,' he said.
And besides, he's doing something good.
That gave me the idea to try my own test site.
I liked the prospect of becoming self-employed so quickly.
I didn't even have to go to college to be my own boss.
Sure, I had concerns too.
As a trainee, I never really felt that I was being taken seriously.
Now, of all people, I wanted to set up a test center?
But I decided to take the risk.
A test center is created
From the idea to the finished test center, everything went very quickly, it didn't even take a month. I brought a friend on board who was working as a medical assistant at the time. With his medical and my commercial background, we are, so to speak, a dream couple. We first registered a business and submitted a hygiene concept to the local district administration. Within eight days, we had approval from the health department. We were in a gold rush mood, counting on the big win.
But first of all we needed start-up capital.
We invested a total of around 9,000 euros from our savings.
We used the money to buy the equipment: gloves, gowns and masks, test booths, the IT system for accounting and of course the tests themselves. We rented an empty village community center as the location for the test center.
In order to be able to test people for Sars-CoV-2, we still needed training from a doctor.
It didn't last more than 15 minutes.
The doctor explained to us how to put on the protective clothing correctly and how to insert the swab into the mouth and nose for the swab.
"When I held my first positive test in my hand, I screamed and first opened all the windows."
Marco Schmeis
It was a strange feeling: Sars-CoV-2 has killed millions of people, and we suddenly encountered the virus every day.
That also means an enormous responsibility.
When I held my first positive test in my hand, I screamed and first of all opened all the windows.
Today I'm more experienced, after all, we have positive cases every day.
I report them to the health department and forward them to a doctor's office for a PCR test.
Commercial training pays off
In our small company, I am responsible for the administrative tasks. We now have six employees, most of them are mini-jobbers, i.e. schoolchildren and students who earn a little extra money. I plan the working hours, write the pay slips and order materials. I usually do that in the morning. In the afternoon I drive to the test center and help out. At the weekend we also test in a neighboring hotel when events take place there. I almost never have days off.
When the tests became chargeable on October 11th, we were close to the end.
Almost all of the people who refused the vaccination and needed the test came to visit shops or restaurants.
The mood was tense.
Customers increasingly did not wear their masks properly;
some of our advertising posters were cut with a knife.
I am glad that the tests became free again shortly afterwards.
Now more sensible people are coming again.
Of course, I don't make little money with the test center.
I have between 5000 and 10,000 euros a month.
But as nice as this sum is: I just want the pandemic to pass soon.
I am young, I want to get my life back.
I am currently gaining a lot of experience that will be valuable for my professional future.
I get a lot of recognition from customers and people around me for taking on so much responsibility at the age of 22.
When the test center comes to an end, I could imagine starting my own business again with a new project: an app for job placement.
Not everything about HR is bad.
You just have to make it fair for the workers.
For the time being, I will continue to test - unfortunately there is still enough work to be done.
For the time being, I put the idea of studying aside, because obviously you can do without it. "
