Jens Behrens wins the gold medal for masonry at the German championship thanks to his precision workmanship.
German championship, European championship, world championship: the first thing most people would think on hearing these words would surely be football. But the same kinds of contests are held for the German craft trade industry too, and at the 66th German championships in Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, the very best candidates from the building professions were put to the test and got their reward. The coveted gold medal in masonry went to Jens Behrens from Scheeßel.
Behrens qualified for the championship by first being the best in his guild, then being named the best in the state by the Chambers of Crafts and Trades in Hanover. The event is hosted by the Central Association of the German Building Industry (ZDB) and training centres all over the country can apply to serve as the venue where the masons, carpenters and so on will create their pieces to a strict timeframe. Behrens's task was to build two walls and use clinker bricks of various colours to create two patterns at different heights. "They usually include dates and something that relates to the venue", explains Behrens, who completed his training at his parents' building company, Beco Hoch-und Ingenieurbau.
This time, the contestants had to use lots of different moulded and special bricks to produce an image of Sigmaringen Castle, as well as the year. "In the past, there have been coats of arms, churches and fortresses", adds Behrens. The masons receive detailed drawings and the materials they need on site. They have one day to complete one piece, with the judges then examining all the work in the evening, measuring everything precisely and assessing not only the look of the finished piece, but also the technique and workmanship.
Ten contestants from ten federal states were competing for the masonry title. "The state champions from the federal states not represented did not have enough points to take part", notes Behrens. After making the journey to Sigmaringen, the competitors got to know each other and had their first glimpse of what would be their workplace for the next two days. "That's when the nerves kick in, when you see what's in store for you." But those nerves soon vanished on the first day of the competition. "You're so deep in your work by then that you even stop noticing the spectators walking around", explains Behrens.
However, the nerves returned when it came to the presentation ceremony. It was a close-run decision: "All my fellow competitors had proven their skills and produced really great work", he says. Later came a second presentation ceremony in Berlin, with all branches of the profession in attendance. Over 100 craft trade businesses turned out for that event. As champion, Behrens would now have been entitled to apply for the world championships – "but unfortunately I'm too old", he says with some regret. The world championships will be held in Russia in 2019, but by then Behrens will be 23 and no longer allowed to participate. "Going to the world championships is a huge effort and expense in any case. But of course, you get to see something of the world too: the 2017 world championships, for example, were held in Abu Dhabi."
Behrens was given training exercises to do at his firm in order to practise for the championship, but there was no official preparation programme to follow. "Working on our construction sites every day is how I learnt the trade anyway", says Behrens. The journeymen (qualified apprentices) took him under their wing from the very first day of training and showed him the finer points of the trade. Preparations for the world championships look a little different: "For that there are national training courses that obviously take time, with one trainer for each trade", reports company boss Martin Behrens, who has already experienced one such event. His elder son Dennis won the gold medal in the national contest for concrete workers in 2014, becoming runner-up at the world championships held in Brazil in 2015.
The company sets great store by practical training and it's a strategy that is proving successful: last year, then apprentice Jonas Knaak won the silver medal in the concrete and reinforced concrete worker category at the championships.
For Behrens, his training was really worthwhile: "Since I want to work towards becoming a civil engineer, it's all great practical experience."