Tamara’s story

Advising guests at the Tourist Center desk, processing invoices in accounting, managing campaigns and organising events in marketing – and much more besides. Tamara has been working at Jungfrau Region Tourism for eight years. After completing her apprenticeship, she stayed on with the company and has worked in several departments. Here, she tells us about it in her own words.

“It all started with a newspaper ad in the Berner Oberländer. I applied for the commercial apprenticeship at Jungfrau Region Tourism because I was interested in travel and tourism. After a work experience day, I was offered the position – and so my adventure with the company began on 1 August 2016.

All apprentices start their training in one of the five resorts – Grindelwald, Wengen, Mürren, Lauterbrunnen or the Haslital. Wherever possible, we take into account where the apprentices live. I spent the first 12 months at the Tourist Center in Meiringen, in the Guest Service department. It helped that I had grown up in the area and knew it well. That meant I could give guests the best possible advice – in German, English and French. In other words, I was able to improve my language skills too.

I spent my second year of training at the head office in Interlaken. In the central reservations office, I handled general enquiries by email and phone. I made bookings for hotels and holiday apartments and coordinated package deals, such as a hut-to-hut trek from Mürren to Kandersteg. For the second half of the year, I moved to the marketing and sales department. There, I helped organise press trips and fam trips – and even got to accompany them. A real highlight was representing Jungfrau Region Tourism on my own at ITB Berlin, one of the world’s largest and most important travel trade fairs. I loved being given so much trust while I was still an apprentice.

In my third and final year, I worked mainly in the finance department. As I’m not really a numbers person, I was a little sceptical at first, but it turned out I actually enjoyed the work. I took care of general administrative tasks, processed invoices and prepared monthly reports.

After passing my final exams, it worked in my favour that Jungfrau Region Tourism aims to keep on its apprentices wherever possible. Of course, there also had to be a suitable position available – and I was lucky. I went back to where it had all begun: the Haslital. While studying for my two-year vocational baccalaureate at the Wirtschaftsschule Thun business school, I worked three days a week at the information desk in Meiringen – and now also at the one on the Hasliberg. I worked closely with the Meiringen-Hasliberg mountain railways. Advising guests and selling tickets were among my main tasks.

The two years at the information desk were the perfect job alongside my vocational baccalaureate. But once I had passed it, I felt ready for a change and a new challenge. I wanted to move from the front office to the back office. A position opened up in the finance department in Interlaken, so once again I was able to take on a new role within the company and keep developing. I started out as a Finance Assistant, but I soon became more and more interested in marketing. Alongside my job, I trained as a marketing specialist at the Ausbildungszentrum für Unternehmensmanagement (AzU) in Thun. My job profile was adjusted slightly, too: I became a Finance & Project Assistant, spending 20 percent of my working hours supporting individual marketing projects – which meant I could put what I was learning at school into practice straight away.

After completing my training as a marketing specialist, I moved permanently to the marketing department. When a position became available, I seized the opportunity. And so for about a year now, I’ve been a Junior Marketing Manager. My work is very varied. I look after the Swiss market, which also makes me part of the sales team. I coordinate campaigns, attend events and organise information sessions. I also had the chance to support our E-Service Manager in building the new website.

I’ve now been working at Jungfrau Region Tourism for eight years. I appreciate the pleasant working atmosphere, the flat hierarchies and the trust placed in me – and the fact that I get to work in and for such a beautiful region.

Every year, Jungfrau Region Tourism offers two apprenticeship positions. During the three-year commercial apprenticeship (HGT branch, E-profile), apprentices spend eighteen months each at the head office in Interlaken (marketing/accounting) and at the Tourist Centers (Grindelwald and either Meiringen or Mürren).