Siblings write craft history

Sisters Athena and Janina Ebermann have jointly achieved their master craftsman's certificate in the plastering trade. This is a first in the 126-year history of the Koblenz Chamber of Skilled Crafts (HwK).

This article is part of the special feature on women in the trades.

This is unprecedented in the 126-year history of the Koblenz Chamber of Skilled Crafts (HwK) : two sisters are completing the master craftsman preparation course in plastering together , culminating in the master craftsman examination. Athena and Janina Ebermann passed the exam in separate sessions, one after the other. They even used their own mother as their "apprentice"...

Athena (26) and Janina (24) Ebermann from Koblenz learned the plastering trade in the family business after completing their vocational high school diploma. Now they faced the final part of the examination on their way to obtaining their master craftsman's certificate – and this in the 70th anniversary year of the family business Gewo, based in Koblenz.

They had to demonstrate both technical and pedagogical knowledge, as the final assessment focused on their skills in training an apprentice. "We had approached two young people from our company, but both had to drop out at the last minute." The alternative: their mother, Elke, had to step in. This proved to be quite a challenge, as the two daughters had to adjust their roles, and from the start of the exam, their mother was no longer their mother, but apprentice Elke.

Elke Ebermann spontaneously changed roles: from office manager and mother to apprentice

And Elke Ebermann , who normally works in the office of the family business, also had to change her role and make a firm resolution "not to mother her, but to seriously look at the tasks at hand through the eyes of the trainee."

After two 30-minute exam periods, it was finally over, and all three Ebermann women looked visibly proud at the result: they had passed! "It was wonderful to have been a part of it, and nobody can take that away from me," revealed Elke, framed by her two daughters and their little master craftsman certificates, which they received immediately after the exam evaluation.

The daughters had free choice of profession

"Our grandfather is watching very closely from above what's happening here," Athena said, including the company founder in the day's masterful events. Grandfather Johannes, who passed away in 1997, started his own business in 1956 and handed it over to his son Gerrit Ebermann in 1995 , who has been volunteering with the Chamber of Skilled Crafts for many years.

His daughters had the freedom to choose their own careers, "and our father wasn't exactly thrilled when we both applied for an internship with subsequent training at his company. That's long since changed," say the two sisters, who are usually in lockstep. Because the Ebermann women aren't just alike professionally. "If you ask us the same questions separately, the answers are practically always identical."

It's no surprise, then, that they plan to continue their journey towards obtaining their master craftsman's certificates. "We want to take over the family business with its 13 employees together – step by step and side by side." They both agree that this would make Grandpa Johannes especially proud, as his business would then not only be in good hands, but also passed on to the third generation.

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