Let's start with the obvious: Yes, trade shows are exhausting. The planning, the set-up and dismantling, and of course the trade fair days themselves. Whether it was beruf & bildung, AUSBILDUNG 49, ABI Zukunft or jobmesse - our team at the trade fair stand could hardly catch their breath. There was always someone there who wanted to find out about our job offers, ask about benefits or simply nibble on a piece of our delicious chocolate. But it wasn't just the visitors who came to our stand to talk. Other exhibitors and, above all, the teachers who accompanied their school classes to the trade fairs also had the concept and the range of our training opportunities explained to them.

But despite all the effort, such days are also deeply fulfilling. Because a day at the trade show is much more than just work. It is full of expectations, opportunities and encounters that create connections. Experiencing how visitors approach us - sometimes shyly and tentatively, sometimes purposefully and straightforwardly - providing them with information (and of course our delicious chocolate) and talking through their questions, learning about their career aspirations and getting to know at least a little of the people behind them - that's what trade show life is all about and, despite all the exhaustion, makes us go home with a smile on our faces.

With the certainty that this trade fair feeling does not grow old, and all that we have taken away from the countless discussions, we are now going into the coming year even more motivated and with many new ideas, and are looking forward to the 2024 trade fair season.