Aston Mambwe
Canning
Ferrum AG
Bachelor student in Mechanical Engineering
University of Zambia
August 01 - October 31, 2018
Working at Ferrum
Let me start by thanking the B360 Education Partnerships for the opportunity of a life time, I have found my workmates and supervisors at Ferrum to be a perfect reflection of how hospitable, outgoing, helpful, hardworking and goal driven the Swiss people are. I have learnt much from observation, enquiry and mostly by participating. The conduct of the employees during work from how clean the environment is kept to how quality oriented the employees are. The chain of command is respected and cooperation when undertaking a project is always seen, the differentiation between personal time (eating, resting and other breaks taken) and working time is properly defined and followed strictly. They are a brilliant group of people who are friendly and always willing to lend a hand at and away from work. Quality is emphasized as this guarantees the company a good name and more importantly high clientele. This is the work culture and ideology I would like to promote when I return home to Zambia.
My Swiss host family
I feel like I was paired with the perfect match of a family, as this can be noticed in the common interests, food preferences, eagerness to help and heartwarming hospitality. I had the best company around me always. They have helped me plan for trips and activities for the weekend. It is thanks to them that I have been able to visit a great number of places in Switzerland and outside. I have felt really at home staying with the Abdulkadirs.
Highlights and challenges in Switzerland
Some of the highlights are the great communication and friendship with my workmates, the beautiful places I have visited in Switzerland, trying new dishes and drinks, getting to learn about the Swiss culture and attending the Hunzenschwil local choir to sing. Challenges have come from the language barrier and this reduced the number of people I could communicate with to have a healthy conversation as well as to ask for aid when I was in need.
My Future Plans
My short term plan is to finish my post-graduate studies and look for a work environment that can help me thrive and realize my full potential. My experience in Switzerland taught me that while qualifications do matter, what matters even more is how well one can differentiate oneself from the rest. In the long run, I wish to build my empire and be part of the solution to the unemployment that has continued to rob the youths of their dreams. Business is my passion and this experience has just provided me with a great push in the right direction.
Personal message
I would encourage the future students under B360 to learn as much from the program, work hard and enjoy the work at the company assigned, to have vast interest in the culture and plan wisely to travel and mingle, to discover a lot more knowledge that cannot be taught but only experienced.