Anne (27): Overcoming exam anxiety and graduating as a retail Sales Assistant
Anne was unable to complete her vocational training as a retail saleswoman due to severe exam anxiety and dropped out in her second year of training. Without a qualification, she gained work experience in her field through part-time jobs. Anne visited the counselling centre to find out how she could catch up on her vocational qualification despite her exam nerves. There, she learned that she met the requirements for a modular post-qualification programme.
Facing personal limits
Although Anne handled the technical content well, she experienced severe anxiety during an exam in her second year of training and had to withdraw. After this experience, the idea of taking further exams became unthinkable for her. As a result, she did not complete her vocational training and started working part-time in sales.
However, Anne was still eager to finish her training, so during the counselling session, she inquired about ways to catch up on her vocational qualification. Due to her exam anxiety, she was searching for a method that would reduce the pressure on her.
Achieving the goal in small steps
During the counselling session, Anne discovered that she fulfilled the formal requirements for a modular post-qualification programme thanks to her work experience from an internship, her training period, and her part-time job.
She was still worried about her exam fear, as the shortened path to a vocational qualification would also end with an IHK exam. However, Anne was reassured when she learned that she would only need to start with the entry-level module.
She had two options after that: she could either acquire a partial qualification with the first module and return to work or gradually complete further modules to work towards a full vocational qualification as a retail saleswoman. It was very important and comforting for Anne to be able to first see how she coped with the school environment, learning, and the module exam.
First successes on the way to graduation
A few weeks after the counselling session, Anne took the first step and registered for the introductory module of the post-qualification course in retail management. She found the module exam challenging but manageable, as it took place in the familiar surroundings of the school and helped her gauge her own progress.
This initial success motivated her to enrol in further modules. Over time, Anne became increasingly calm and self-confident as she continued with the post-qualification programme. The final exam at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce was simply the next step—albeit a significant one—which Anne successfully completed. She now works as a retail saleswoman in a specialist shop.
A success story from Fachberatung Berufliche Nachqualifizierung (Advice on professional post-qualification)