Katja Benthaus helps students at the Franz-Marc-Förderzentrum to start their careers

Created: 02/22/2022, 09:00

By: Sabine Hermsdorf-Hiss

Help even after school: Career starter Katja Benthaus from the Franz-Marc-Förderzentrum © Hermsdorf-Hiss

Finding a job is not easy for students at the Franz Marc Promotion Center.

Katja Benthaus helps - and remains the contact person after school.

Geretsried

– "We don't just want to call ourselves a school family, we want to live it," emphasized the headmaster of the Franz Marc Support Center, Michael Albrecht.

This also means that the students are not left alone after they leave the facility.

And so Katja Benthaus is at your side with the first steps in training as a career start support.

The 44-year-old teacher, curative teacher and mother of two has been working at the school since 2011.

Employers are both the German Adult Education Center in Bad Tölz and, in the past, a wide variety of educational institutions.

At the Franz-Marc-School, the support association also steps in, since the needs of the students are greater than Benthaus's position covers.

Unrealistic career aspirations are taken seriously

In principle, the first contact with the children takes place in the seventh grade.

"I work closely with the teachers here," says the 44-year-old.

"Together we advise who needs support, where resources from the parental home can be used and who is already so far in their development that they can develop training maturity."

In the eighth grade, the students have their first internships.

Benthaus supports, advises, documents the progress of her wards - and has to find a solution when career aspirations are not realizable.

"If someone wants to become a brain surgeon", the teacher gives an example, she doesn't say, "You can't do that", but, "Wow!

But that's a long way to go."

Mistakes are part of it at the beginning - for everyone

Together you look at the training path leading to your dream job.

"And we usually find something where initial experience can still be gained, as in this case in nursing," says Benthaus.

After all, an internship should lead to a realistically achievable job.

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Because fear of failure is one of the main reasons why an internship or an apprenticeship is broken off.

"In addition, there is the stigmatization that one comes from a special needs school," the teacher observed.

"I make it clear to them that mistakes are part of the process at the beginning, for everyone." This also includes accepting criticism - "and then not running away and giving up everything." The 44-year-old trains such situations in role-playing games beforehand.

This gives the students a certain level of confidence.

It is important to speak the language of the young people

The application training in the ninth grade is a large part of Benthaus' work.

“It is important that it is written in the young person's language and not in mine.

The young people should remain authentic, despite maintaining certain forms.” And Benthaus is also sitting at the computer, writing to companies, asking for internships.

"Especially smaller craft businesses are very open-minded here."

Also read: General renovation of the Franz Marc School is underway

It doesn't matter whether the students then decide to do a pre-vocational year after the ninth grade or even start an apprenticeship: Benthaus is the contact person for the young people and their training companies for at least another six months.

“I can be reached easily on my work cell phone.

I also drive directly to the workplaces,” explains the career starter.

The students thank Benthaus in their own way.

"I always get feedback later," she says.

The most beautiful thing is of course: "Hey, I made it."

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