A New Communications Landscape Calls for a New Trainee Programme
Fink & Fuchs AG is expanding its team. Since November, Karen Schütz and Ann-Kathrin Schmitt have been taking part in the new trainee programme at the innovation communications consultancy.
Karen Schütz, 30, joins from the innovation management team at Deutsche Bundesbank. For four years, she worked on communications related to quantum computing, AI and digital sovereignty. She has also explored AI in her academic work: she completed her sociology degree at Goethe University Frankfurt with a master’s thesis on emotional conversations with ChatGPT.
Ann-Kathrin Schmitt, 25, studied social and communication sciences as well as organisational communications. After gaining experience at an agency and a startup, she was drawn to innovation communications by the transformative effect new technologies can have on organisations and entire markets.
Building change into the trainee programme
Communications consultancy today is about shaping the reputation of organisations and individuals and strengthening trust in their brands. That means understanding debates in business, politics and society, identifying trends, and connecting companies with the narratives taking shape around innovation and the future. It calls for consultants who see organisations in the context of their markets, competitors and wider public debate — and can turn that understanding into well-founded recommendations.
AI has an important role to play. It can help teams develop targeted communications strategies quickly and on the basis of data, and put them into practice effectively. But its value depends on combining it with critical thinking, professional expertise and the right consulting methods.
“Communications consultancy is complex. It requires a broad set of methods, from analysis through to the tactical implementation of a communications strategy. Our trainee programme gives people starting out in their careers the guidance they need to develop the skills that will matter in the future,” says Alexandra Groß, Member of the Executive Board of Fink & Fuchs AG. “We have added a number of new training modules and discontinued some of the previous ones. The programme now puts greater emphasis on helping trainees shape networks and ecosystems, applying management methods and using the relevant tools effectively.”
Communications and AI skills
A major focus is on using AI confidently and professionally. The trainees apply it across the consultancy’s work, from analysis and communications management to content development and data evaluation. They also learn how to build AI agents and identify processes that can be automated, with the aim of achieving more effective consulting and work outcomes.
The programme combines on-the-job training with a structured curriculum. From the outset, trainees work across several client teams, first taking on individual tasks and later managing entire projects. They also complete two client projects of their own: one as part of a group and one individually. They are supported throughout by mentors, managers and the HR team.
