“I wanted to move to the office – so I took all my courage together”

Joel, how did you come to work for Mobility?

Good question. I haven’t told anyone that yet. After my apprenticeship as a car mechanic, I worked at AMAG for six months. One time during my lunch break I came home and found a newspaper clip on the table. My mother had cut out a Mobility job advertisement entitled Field Service Employee. She said Mobility could be something for me. But I knew I’d be joining the military soon and I didn’t think about it any further. Almost two years later, I ended up with Mobility after all.

Thanks to your mother?

No. The second time I was struck by a job as a case handler. Because I really wanted to move from the garage to the office, I mustered all my courage – even though there was a catch. Completed training as a technical businessman and knowledge of French were required. At the time, I was only in the first year of my apprenticeship as a technical clerk, but I wanted to give it a try. So I called the contact person in the job advertisement and asked if I should still submit my dossier.

What happened next?

I applied and a little later I was called, among other things, to ask if I could speak French. I had French in high school and could do it very well at the time, and as a Portuguese, I find it easy. At that point, however, I hadn’t spoken French for a while. I didn’t want to leave anything unturned and suddenly something occurred to me: “I was in France last week,” I told my interlocutor in French on the phone. Obviously, I didn’t do it that badly, after all, I was invited to an interview and later to a trial assignment.

Are you still happy in the office?

Yes, and I’m grateful that Mobility gave me this opportunity. I appreciate it because I know a lot of people who come from the workshop and then found it difficult to switch to the office despite further commercial training. I lacked the commercial experience and was in my first year of training – today I can look back on more than four years.

And how are things going with French?

Good! But not only with French, I have to admit: languages are generally easy for me. That suits me in my role at Mobility, and maybe I should look for a different job at a later date. At Mobility, I have the opportunity to take part in a weekly French lesson. I’ve been doing this for five years now and I’m still learning. We talk a lot about current issues. Speaking is important to gain safety. Then it’s more fun. I also need it almost every day. As our cars are used throughout Switzerland, we are often confronted with repairs from Western Switzerland.

What languages do you speak?

My mother tongue is Portuguese, and I also speak English and French. And German, of course. (laughs) I understand Italian and Spanish very well, because Portuguese is a mix of both languages. I was supposed to travel to Spain and Italy for a month, then I would be able to speak. 

Not only do you learn languages, but you also train yourself in other ways.

Yes, I am studying Business Information Technology. Flexible working hours at Mobility help me in this respect. I can work 100% and go to school once a week for an afternoon and an evening. I make up for the missed working hours on the other days by working a little more.

And what did you plan to do after your studies?

I’m sure I won’t stop! There are some ideas, but I think I’m taking a break. After all, it costs a lot of money to finance a third apprenticeship yourself. I’m more interested in making use of the option of taking unpaid leave next year if need be. I like the idea of travelling a faraway country or continent for a few weeks in a camper van.

First name: Joel
Activity: Fleet management
with Mobility since: March 2020