Trainees are of such significance in German culture that a whole generation has been named after them: the 'Generation Praktikum' - which means "Generation Traineeship" - applied to people born in the 80s. That's because this particular generation is accustomed to spending months and months working like a dog in underpaid internships before being able to maybe one day get a real job. (You don't believe me? As a matter of fact, I know of no less than 650 members of that generation doing such an internship in one single institution in Brussels at this very moment!)
Little known to the rest of the world, trainees have inspired German musicians to compose some of the finest pop songs ever written. Unfortunately, nobody in the world actually speaks German, except for EPSO applicants who didn't pay enough attention in their French classes. Therefore here's a quick English intro to three chosen traineeship songs from Germany:
1) When I first heard Germany's unofficial traineeship anthem by the band Wir sind Helden ("We are heroes"), I misunderstood the title, thinking it was 'Wir müssen nur träumen' – "We just have to dream". Although this seemed a little naive to me, it undeniably had a touch of hope, so I liked it.
It turned out, though, that the correct title was the complete opposite of naïve: 'Müssen nur wollen' – "We just have to want"! The chorus continues: "Wir können alles schaffen / genau wie die tollen / dressierten Affen / wir müssen nur wollen!" - "We can achieve everything, just like awesome trained monkeys - we just have to want (it)!" Never before or since has the situation of trainees been more succinctly summarised than by those few crisp and clear lines.
2) You may think that the Germans are a bit strange to call their youth the generation of trainees. However, you'll no longer be surprised when you hear how the preceding generation was called: Generation Golf, which means "generation of the Volkswagen Golf".
Back in 1971, Ton, Steine, Scherben ("Clay, Stones, Broken Pottery") had already anticipated the willingness of the next generation to start careers via low-paid internships in large, alienating organisations, in order to ensure that in the long run, they would be able to pursue bourgeois dreams consisting of cars and families.
This inspired them to write the seminal 'Ich will nicht werden, was mein Alter ist' - "I don't want to become what my old man is now" – which also contains the idyllic description: "Arbeit macht das Leben süss, so süss wie Maschinenöl" - "Work makes life sweet, as sweet as machine oil".
3) More recently, the band Tocotronic took German contemplation about traineeships to a whole new level by giving their audience the advice: "Was Du auch machst, mach' es nicht selbst" - "Whatever you do, don't do it yourself".
All of these songs have more practical implications for you than you may at first think. The most immediate benefit for your everyday life is when it comes to those dreaded questions that become scarier as the final day of the traineeship gets closer: Will I be able to stay on on a short-term contract? Will I get into the second round of the EPSO contest? Where else should I apply? And what the hell should / can I do with my life?
While all of the songs offer valuable guidance on these questions, it is the quintessential anthem 'Müssen nur wollen' whose words of wisdom are always useful to keep in mind: "Wenn ich könnte, wie ich wollte, würd' ich gar nichts wollen - Ich weiss aber, dass alle etwas wollen sollen!" - "If I were able to be as I wanted to be, I wouldn't want anything at all - but I know that everybody is supposed to want something!"
But you don't have to take my word for it; according to the Brussels radio station Pure FM, "good music makes good people."
Eric Burger,
DG TRADE
Next time: Traineeship Tunes II (English): Whistling at work
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