SWARCO Employee
Spotlight
Name: Abdul
Position: Service Technician in Traffic Technology
Responsibilities: Installation, maintenance, and fault resolution
One word that describes my job: varied
Must-haves: technical understanding, manual skills, Problem-solving ability, reliability, team spirit
Living the Big Dream
When Abdul gets up at 5:30 a.m., heads to work, and starts his shift at 7:00 a.m., he never knows exactly what the day will bring. What might make others uneasy is what he values most: as a service technician for traffic technology systems at SWARCO Traffic Systems in Garching, he travels across Bavaria with his team. Together with his colleagues, he oversees a wide range of traffic installations and ensures traffic flows safely. For Abdul, this is more than a job – it’s his dream profession.
The Big Dream
As a child in Afghanistan, Abdul was captivated by electronics. At home, he took devices apart, wanted to understand how they worked, and tried to bring broken equipment back to life. Even then, electrical engineering felt like “a big world” – the field he was determined to work in one day.
Born during wartime, he didn’t have the education he'd hoped for. After primary school, Abdul wanted to pursue technical training. War thwarted his goal – his school was destroyed. Six months later, he fled to Pakistan with his parents, where he earned a diploma and training in office management. Back in Afghanistan, Abdul worked for 13 years as a sales manager for industrial paints – a responsible role, but far from his original passion for electrical engineering.
Electrical engineering is a big world – you can’t do everything alone. With the team’s support, you can.
A Fresh Start That Worked
The turning point came in 2021, under difficult circumstances: war again, and ultimately, fleeing to Germany. Soon after arriving, Abdul began learning German – not easy amid a global pandemic. At first, he could only take online courses, before in-person classes resumed. He kept going, completed his language courses, and knew: he wanted to restart his career in electrical engineering. “My advisor told me right away,” he recalls, “if you want to work in a different field in Germany, you need to do vocational training.” That settled it. Abdul began searching for a strong training position, sent countless applications, and was thrilled when SWARCO offered him an apprenticeship in electrical engineering.
The First Step
His start at SWARCO was full of new impressions: a different culture, new processes, and many new colleagues. Soon, he traveled with his instructor to Unterensingen, where he and other trainees got to know the plant and learned what the next 3.5 years would look like. “I immediately felt this was the first step toward my dream job,” he says with a smile. From day one, Abdul experienced collaboration at SWARCO as a real strength of the company culture – whether in assembly, scheduled maintenance, or service deployments to fix faults. Whenever he had questions, his team offered the right support – consistently and at eye level.
Backed by that support, the practical part of his training went smoothly. Vocational school, however, was a special challenge – especially the technical terminology. “Everyday conversations in German aren’t a problem,” he explains, “but with technical jargon it gets much harder.” With commitment and perseverance, Abdul mastered this hurdle too – a success he’s proud of.
"I enjoy my work so much that I often don’t notice how quickly time flies."
Variety Instead of Routine
What Abdul enjoys most in his daily work is the variety. Unlike his previous office role as a sales manager, his work at SWARCO is dynamic, technical, and hands-on. He’s also motivated by the sense of purpose and impact: keeping traffic running safely and, together with the team, finding solutions to special challenges. That combination is exactly what makes the job so fulfilling for him.
At the beginning of 2026, Abdul successfully completed his training. Looking back, he especially highlights his instructor’s support: “He guided me both professionally and personally throughout my training and decisively shaped my career path.” He’s equally grateful to his landlord, who stood by him and his family with advice and practical help: “He became a very close friend. His support was – and still is – invaluable.” With his training complete and a freshly signed employment contract, Abdul now looks confidently to the future and is ready for new challenges – perhaps as early as tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m.
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A Job That Moves People
If you enjoy hands-on work, are passionate about technology, and appreciate variety, you’ll find a diverse field as a Service Technician in traffic technology. Your day-to-day includes installing, maintaining, and servicing technical systems, troubleshooting faults, and collaborating closely with your team to ensure reliable operation. SWARCO offers a safe workplace, modern technology, a supportive team environment, and opportunities to take responsibility, grow your expertise, and advance your career.
