Training as a Construction Mechanic
Goodbye exercise books. Hello steel girders.
Max-Leon stands in the production hall and tacks steel beams. Tacking? That's right: tacking. A technical term from metal technology. In specific terms: Max-Leon prepares steel parts for welding. Large steel parts. For bridges, industrial halls, aircraft hangars. And sometimes smaller parts. Like straight anchor plates and anchor bolts for a new hall.
Just two years ago, he was sitting in the classroom, struggled with math and didn't even know where the journey would take him. Where was there a place for him outside the school walls? He completed a two-week internship in steel construction at CHRISTMANN + PFEIFER and immediately felt at home in the company. From minute one. “There's a special working atmosphere here. People really stick together here, nobody is put down. I didn't expect that.” And: “It's fun to produce something. Seeing what you've done and achieved.”
He applies for an apprenticeship as a construction mechanic. After a year of basic training at the C + P training center, he is now in his second year of training, back where it all began with his internship. For him, struggling in school is long since history and he is delighted to have found a place where he is really happy. His place.
The leap from secondary school to work was not easy. And he hasn't got rid of the torturous math either. “On the contrary, you need a lot of math here, it's really difficult.” But: “It works!” Math suddenly takes on a concrete meaning and makes sense. “Above all, you get it explained better and in peace.”
As a construction mechanic to be, there are many basics and techniques to learn. Marking out, i.e. marking out dimension lines and drilling points. Flexing. Welding. Flame cutting. And all this in very different areas. From gate construction to loading, Max-Leon will pass through very different stations in the course of his training and get to know different fields of work. And he will attend vocational school on 1-2 days per week. His conclusion: If you want to work with your head and hands, then being a construction mechanic between the spraying sparks is just right for you!