Extra weekend courses

Top apprentices sacrifice their free time for training

Guild master for vehicle technology Georg Ringseis together with the most talented apprentices in Vienna.(Bild: Gerhard Bartel)

Tinkering with engines from Monday to Friday is not enough for them: 16 young skilled workers attend additional expert courses. This also gives them the opportunity to take part in the national championships in the fall. 

Apprentices usually finish their training after three years. In vehicle technology, this is not always enough, says Georg Ringseis, Guild Master of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. For this reason, exclusive expert courses have recently been offered for the most talented apprentices in the fields of automotive technology and bodywork.

"This initiative aims to provide special support for young professionals through additional training days, which take place once a month on a Friday and Saturday," says Ringseis.

Our dad is a car mechanic, so the career choice was easy for me and my twin brother.

Ein Lehrling

We looked over the apprentices' shoulders during a course session. "Our dad is a car mechanic, so it was an easy choice of career for me and my twin brother," says Patrick Tilic. "We can let off steam here and learn something to boot. We don't mind sacrificing our free time for this," adds his brother Dominik. There is also a young woman among the 16 participants, Sofia N.

She is doing her apprenticeship with Wiener Linien. She is pleased that more and more girls are venturing into this male-dominated profession. While there were only two girls in her first year of training, almost half of them are now female.

In recognition of their commitment, the apprentices also have the opportunity to be nominated to take part in the national championships in the fall.