Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB)

Designation of occupation

Management assistant in wholesale and foreign trade
Recognised by ordinance of 14. February 2006 (BGBl. I p. 409)

Duration of traineeship

3 years
The training is completed in one of the following two specialist fields:

• Wholesale trade
• Foreign trade

The venues for training are the company and part-time vocational school (Berufsschule).

Field of activity

Management assistants in the fields of wholesale and foreign trade work in all sectors of business in trading companies or in industry. Their fields of activity are: the purchase of goods at home and abroad, and their re-sale to traders, craft companies and the industrial and service sectors, as well as the provision of goods-related services.

Occupational skills

Management assistants in the fields of wholesale and foreign trade

• sell goods, services and customer support packages, and calculate sale prices,
• assure quality standards,
• monitor the market and assess sales opportunities,
• identify sources of supply, assess offers and purchase goods,
• make use of product knowledge,
• plan and conduct purchasing and sales negotiations,
• inform and advise customers,
• handle complaints,
• develop and implement marketing measures,
• process customer orders and payment transactions, and assess credit risks,
• evaluate parameters and statistics in order to monitor success, and use these as a basis for further measures.

Management assistants in the fields of wholesale and foreign trade specialising in wholesale trade

• plan, control and monitor logistical business processes in the area of goods receipt, storage and goods dispatch,
• select logistics services and apply them,
• record goods receipts, monitor warehouse stocks and conduct inventories,
• make use of information in other languages and provide information in a foreign language.

Management assistants in the fields of wholesale and foreign trade specialising in foreign trade

• plan, control and monitor logistical transport processes in cooperation with service providers,
• complete foreign currency calculations, including foreign exchange transactions,
• observe foreign trade and customs legislation regulations, as well as international trade clauses,
• conclude international transport contracts and observe the payment conditions specific to foreign trade transactions,
• process documentary transactions,
• conduct correspondence and communicate in a foreign language.

Last modified on: August 20, 2007