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GESIS offers an exciting working environment in the field of interdisciplinary research at the interface of computer science and social sciences. All our employees - including our trainees - benefit from a flexible working environment, our in-house training opportunities and the central location of our sites in Cologne and Mannheim.

Training at GESIS is particularly interesting because of the many and varied training areas.

The advantages of training at GESIS:

  • Above-average training allowance in accordance with TVA-L BBiG (1,236,82 euros in the first year)
  •  Payment of an annual bonus
  • 30 days vacation
  • Opportunity to spend time abroad as part of the Erasmus Plus program
  • Training days for the networking of trainees
  • Structured takeover planning for trainees

GESIS is a member of the Leibniz Association, so there is the possibility of networking training with our partner institutes, for example by completing a vocational school-free period at another institute in Germany or abroad.

Information on the TVA-L (collective agreement for trainees in the federal states), including information on vacation, training pay, etc., can be found here. In all training occupations, it is possible to shorten the training period under certain conditions.

Specialist for market and social research

Market and social research specialists are involved in the organization and implementation of market studies and research projects in empirical social research. At GESIS, scientific studies are carried out that must meet high quality standards. The trainees are involved in the entire study process. This begins with the creation of question programs. Depending on the study, this is followed by the programming of the question program or the commissioning of an institute to carry out the study. The data is then processed and made available.

The trainees are assigned to fixed projects so that they have a very good overview of all the work involved. During their training, they also visit different departments and teams to get to know different working methods and familiarize themselves with the full range of tasks involved.

Duration of training 3 years (shortening possible)
Vocational school Joseph-DuMont-Berufskolleg, Köln
Berufsschule 4, Nürnberg
Apprenticeship pay & vacation is subject to the TVA-L BBiG
You can find more information about the apprenticeship on the IHK Köln and IHK Rhein Neckar websites

IT specialist (specializing in system integration)

IT specialists specializing in system integration are responsible for the planning and configuration of IT systems at GESIS. This includes installing and setting up hardware components, operating systems and networks. The special requirements of the scientific departments in our institute in terms of performance and flexibility, as well as IT security and data protection, must be taken into account. Any faults that occur during operation must be identified and rectified. In addition, personal contact with users in the event of application problems and instruction in the use of the available IT resources is also an important part of training at GESIS.

Duration of training 3 years (shortening possible)
Vocational school Georg-Simon-Ohm-Berufskolleg, Köln
Werner-von-Siemens-Schule, Mannheim
Apprenticeship pay & vacation subject to the TVA-L BBiG
Further information can be found on the IHK Köln and IHK Rhein Neckar websites.

Office management assistants

Office management assistants carry out organizational and commercial/administrative tasks. For example, they handle correspondence, design presentations, procure office supplies, plan and monitor appointments, prepare meetings and organize business trips. Your commercial training at GESIS will focus on the areas of human resources and management and control. You will accompany and support all personnel-related tasks, from job advertisements and contract preparation to the departure of employees. You will also be involved in payroll accounting and drawing up the budget, posting invoices and supervising time recording.

Duration of training 3 years (shortening possible)
Vocational school Berufskolleg Deutzer Freiheit, Köln
Eberhard-Gothein-Schule, Mannheim
Apprenticeship pay & vacation subject to the TVA-L BBiG
Further information can be found on the IHK Köln and IHK Rhein Neckar websites.

Event manager

GESIS offers a wide-ranging scientific event program for international (young) scientists and researchers with over 1000 participants annually. Event managers at GESIS ensure that events such as meetings, workshops, conferences, seminars and training events lasting several weeks can take place with a diverse program. They accompany the events from the idea to the implementation and thus learn all activities related to the planning, implementation and follow-up of events. They work closely with the academic coordinators and are in contact with lecturers and participants.

Event managers advise customers, create a concept, calculate costs, estimate visitor numbers, organize the technology, draw up schedules and are always available for (internal) customers before, during and after the event. During their training, they learn, for example, how to calculate and monitor costs, how to prepare tenders and obtain quotes, how to plan staff deployment and how to create and implement marketing and advertising concepts.

Duration of training 3 years (shortening possible)
Vocational school Joseph-DuMont-Berufskolleg, Köln
Robert-Schuhmann-Schule, Baden-Baden
Apprenticeship pay & vacation subject to the TVA-L BBiG
Further information can be found on the IHK Köln and IHK Rhein Neckar websites.