Girls experienced and tested skilled trades at the Chamber of Crafts Koblenz
They soldered, planed, sanded, glued, sawed and drilled. Girls' Day, the nationwide future day for girls, provided a sneak peek into the skilled trades. The training workshops of the Chamber of Crafts (HwK) Koblenz at the chamber's vocational training centres in Koblenz and Bad Kreuznach were opened for the girls.
67 female pupils from the fifth to tenth grades of secondary modern and grammar schools in the region visited six workshops and applied themselves as craftswomen for a day. The girls set to work on the practical tasks with a gleam in their eyes and unfamiliar protective clothing and gained insights into the skilled trades, its occupational routines and working life.
Eight of the 48 participants in Koblenz came from grammar schools. The girls can well imagine an apprenticeship after their school graduation by way of an alternative to a university degree course.
Kurt Krautscheid and Alexander Baden, President and Managing Director of the HwK Koblenz, respectively, are convinced that occupational preparation cannot start early enough also against the background of the demographic development. "We need well-trained young talent, because the skilled trades are the area with the greatest requirement of skilled labour in the entire commercial industry in Germany!", the chamber managers emphasised.
Events such as the Girls' Day are opportunities for gaining information regarding the possibilities and opportunities offered by the skilled trades and each of their more than 130 individual occupations. Statistics prove that the percentage of women forging a career in the skilled trades is constantly on the rise. In the area of responsibility of the HwK Koblenz, some 4,300 women head one of 19,600 skilled trades businesses in the capacity of owner, shareholder or managing director.
This year, the girls cast plaster ornaments in the moulding department and produced a mobile phone holder by using a light beam at the laser centre. They could choose from a Roman relief, a lion's head and numerous other shapes. The apprentices were happy to help the girls and talk about their occupation. The departments for electrics and carpentry provided further excitement. The body of a lamp that had been constructed in the carpentry department was fitted with a light bulb in the electrics workshop.
The girls were impressed with the opportunities arising from combining the various trades. Each girl was allowed to take home the object they had crafted, either for their own use or as a present for the impending Mother's Day. The teachers accompanying the girls likewise tested their practical skills.
Technophobia? No way!, the girls unanimously declared. At any rate, the HwK Koblenz has awakened interest in the skilled trades by providing an interesting range of activities. Perhaps today's pupils are tomorrow's apprentices in the skilled trades.