Albert: From Internship to Full-Time Position

The Markant Group is the reliable partner for industry and retail: It connects around 200 retailers like DM, Kaufland, and Rossmann with over 15,000 suppliers, ensuring that processes—from payments to data management—run smoothly. Since December 2024, former 42 Heilbronn student Albert has been part of the team as a software developer at the Offenburg location. Before any product can be sold in stores, orders, delivery notes, and invoices have to be exchanged multiple times between the involved companies. Reiner Sailer, Lead Service Owner, explains: “Especially smaller SMEs often still operate with barely digitalized processes—this costs time and resources. We analyze where processes can be simplified and integrate them into a standardized system.” Given the growing shortage of skilled workers, this could provide a huge relief for companies in the future.

Hidden Champion

In fact, large parts of the German consumer goods industry rely on Markant’s IT systems and services. This impressed Albert from the start: “We move an incredible amount and essentially keep an entire industry sector running—yet we remain mostly in the background. As a coder, I can really relate to that,” he says with a smile. His role is to map the different data formats used by manufacturers and suppliers so that they can later be integrated into a unified system. Albert started as an intern. Equipped with the skills from 42 Heilbronn, he quickly familiarized himself with his new tasks, asked the right questions, and became an integral part of the team. Reiner Sailer recalls: “What impressed me most was Albert’s perseverance. As a service provider, we often have to deal with detailed problems. Many people lose interest quickly.” But not Albert—thanks to his experience at 42 Heilbronn, he knows how to approach and solve complex challenges.

Transition to Full-Time

Just four months after starting his internship, Albert received an offer for a full-time position. The only catch: for his new job, he had to switch from Python—the programming language used at 42—to the more complex Java. But this didn’t dampen his enthusiasm at all—quite the opposite: “I felt incredibly comfortable at Markant and really wanted to stay. My first reaction was simply: Great, I get to learn something new!” With this, Albert made a seamless transition from coding school to professional life. Will he miss 42 Heilbronn? “Of course! Especially the community at the school—I’ll really miss that.” That’s why he wants to stay connected to the school in the future. During his vacation time, he plans to complete his Mastery at 42 Heilbronn. A first project with his fellow students is already in the works.