Kapilrajah Sathivel, former wire drawer apprentice at the Neuenrad-based company Elisental, was honoured in Berlin as one of the best 227 apprentices of Germany 2011. The award ceremony included some 1,000 guests.
The thus honoured apprentice from Neuenrad's well-known and long-standing aluminium processing enterprise had not travelled to the Spree alone. The deputy managing director of Elisental, Daniel Wingen, accompanied Sathivel to attend the award ceremony held at the Berlin Maritim Hotel. It is evident that he is impressed by the young man's achievement, "From our point of view, the most remarkable aspect is the fact, that Mr Sathivel came to Germany from Sri Lanka with his family only twelve years ago and only then started to learn the German language."
Individual commitment and the company's support earned him nation-wide success. With regard to future challenges in their search for qualified young talent, the Neuenrad enterprise was all the more delighted with the certificate presented by the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK): "Gratitude and Recognition for Exemplary Commitment."
DIHK President Hans Heinrich Driftmann and Federal Minister of Economics Philipp Rösler awarded a total of 227 apprentices. More than 300,000 apprentices had participated in the chamber of industry and commerce final examinations.
Regarding the current development on the vocational training market, Driftmann said, "These days, businesses are desperately looking for young people – and not so desperately anymore are young people after the businesses." The consequence, "I reckon that due to the lack of suitable applicants some 75,000 apprenticeship training positions have remained unfilled this year."
The DIHK president said that the effective consolidation of enterprises providing vocational training and young people interested in such training was an increasingly important task. He added that at the beginning of 2012 the chambers of industry and commerce would launch a new internet-based apprenticeship training position exchange.