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Training log examples: Retail clerk (Kaufmann/Kauffrau im Einzelhandel)

The training log in retail covers merchandise presentation, selling, the checkout and inventory management, later also purchasing, pricing and staff scheduling. The first year is mostly customer contact, shelf care and checkout duty, the second goods procurement, warehouse and special selling situations, the third planning, marketing and responsibility for a department. The examples show one week from each year of training.

Chamber
IHK
Duration
3 years
Regulation
Training regulation for sales assistants and retail clerks (VerkEHKflAusbV), 2017

Example weeks

This is what one week in the training log can look like. Always write your own entries about what you actually did. The form itself stays German, as it is submitted in German.

Year 1 Sales floor, advice and checkout

Ausbildungsnachweis (wöchentlich)
Name des/der Auszubildenden:
Ausbildungsjahr:1
Ausbildungsbereich:Sales and checkout
Ausbildungswoche vom:
bis:
Betriebliche Tätigkeiten*Stunden
Restocked shelves, checked price tags and presented goods according to the planogram
Advised customers on the sales floor and led them to suitable items
Checkout duty under supervision: cash payments, card payments, helped count the till
Processed an article return according to company rules
36
Unterweisungen, betrieblicher Unterricht, sonstige Schulungen*Stunden
Checkout system briefing: receipt obligation, voids and till closing
Safety briefing: lifting and carrying, handling roll containers
Themen des BerufsschulunterrichtsStunden
* Wie lange wurde welche Tätigkeit ausgeübt?
Datum, Unterschrift Auszubildende/r
Datum, Unterschrift Ausbildende/r oder Ausbilder/in
Datum, Unterschrift gesetzliche/r Vertreter/in
Datum, weitere Sichtvermerke (z. B. Lehrer/in)

Year 1 Sales conversation and merchandise presentation

Ausbildungsnachweis (wöchentlich)
Name des/der Auszubildenden:
Ausbildungsjahr:1
Ausbildungsbereich:Sales
Ausbildungswoche vom:
bis:
Betriebliche Tätigkeiten*Stunden
Held sales conversations: asked about needs, demonstrated goods, offered add-on items
Designed a seasonal promotion area and photographed the display
Attached price labels to promotional goods
Checked customer questions about availability in the inventory system
24
Unterweisungen, betrieblicher Unterricht, sonstige Schulungen*Stunden
Introduction to price labelling and the price indication regulation
Themen des BerufsschulunterrichtsStunden
LF 2: Phases of the sales conversation, customer types
LF 4: Product placement and presentation principles
* Wie lange wurde welche Tätigkeit ausgeübt?
Datum, Unterschrift Auszubildende/r
Datum, Unterschrift Ausbildende/r oder Ausbilder/in
Datum, Unterschrift gesetzliche/r Vertreter/in
Datum, weitere Sichtvermerke (z. B. Lehrer/in)

Year 2 Goods receipt, warehouse and ordering

Ausbildungsnachweis (wöchentlich)
Name des/der Auszubildenden:
Ausbildungsjahr:2
Ausbildungsbereich:Inventory management
Ausbildungswoche vom:
bis:
Betriebliche Tätigkeiten*Stunden
Accepted a delivery, matched it with the delivery note and documented defects
Booked the goods into the inventory system and stored them by shelf life
Checked minimum stock levels and prepared a reorder to the supplier
Carried out a partial stocktake in the department and reported differences
26
Unterweisungen, betrieblicher Unterricht, sonstige Schulungen*Stunden
Briefing on goods receipt and warehouse rules (FIFO, best-before dates)
Themen des BerufsschulunterrichtsStunden
LF 6: Sources of supply, comparing quotes and order quantity
LF 7: Types of storage, warehouse key figures and care of goods
* Wie lange wurde welche Tätigkeit ausgeübt?
Datum, Unterschrift Auszubildende/r
Datum, Unterschrift Ausbildende/r oder Ausbilder/in
Datum, Unterschrift gesetzliche/r Vertreter/in
Datum, weitere Sichtvermerke (z. B. Lehrer/in)

Year 3 Marketing campaign and staff scheduling

Ausbildungsnachweis (wöchentlich)
Name des/der Auszubildenden:
Ausbildungsjahr:3
Ausbildungsbereich:Department management
Ausbildungswoche vom:
bis:
Betriebliche Tätigkeiten*Stunden
Planned and carried out a sales promotion with poster, display and customer email
Evaluated sales of the promotional items and compared them with last year
Drafted the department’s rota for the following week and agreed it with the store manager
Introduced new colleagues to goods receipt
30
Unterweisungen, betrieblicher Unterricht, sonstige Schulungen*Stunden
Talk with my trainer to prepare for the final exam
Themen des BerufsschulunterrichtsStunden
LF 12: Marketing concept and customer retention measures
LF 13: Staff planning and managing employees
* Wie lange wurde welche Tätigkeit ausgeübt?
Datum, Unterschrift Auszubildende/r
Datum, Unterschrift Ausbildende/r oder Ausbilder/in
Datum, Unterschrift gesetzliche/r Vertreter/in
Datum, weitere Sichtvermerke (z. B. Lehrer/in)

Vocational school learning fields

  1. LF 1Representing the retail company
  2. LF 2Conducting customer-oriented sales conversations
  3. LF 3Looking after customers at the checkout
  4. LF 4Presenting goods
  5. LF 5Advertising and promoting sales
  6. LF 6Procuring goods
  7. LF 7Receiving, storing and caring for goods
  8. LF 8Recording and monitoring business processes
  9. LF 9Preparing and implementing pricing measures
  10. LF 10Handling special selling situations
  11. LF 11Steering business processes towards success
  12. LF 12Winning and retaining customers with marketing concepts
  13. LF 13Planning staff deployment and managing employees
  14. LF 14Managing and developing a retail company

Source: KMK framework curriculum for sales assistants and retail clerks, as amended 16 Sep 2016. School topics go into the block “Themen des Berufsschulunterrichts”.

Tips for this training log

  • Write down which customer situation you solved: “Took a complaint about a faulty device and processed the exchange” says more than “served customers”.
  • Name the product group, promotion or department. A retail training log lives on what you actually sold, presented or ordered.
  • Keep checkout, goods and pricing topics apart. That way the examiner sees you have been through all areas.
  • From the second year on: describe company figures (sales, stock) only in general terms, without writing real amounts into the log.

Common mistakes

  • “Sales and shelves” every week without saying what exactly was done.
  • Mixing school topics with company tasks, or leaving them out altogether.
  • Entering overtime and Sunday work that does not match the rota. The hours in the log must match the working time.

Examples for other occupations