Master plasterer Michael Christmann (right) thinks highly of his apprentices. Veronika Sadowski (left) was privileged to moderate the virtual Girls' Day at Stuck Belz almost single-handedly. Among other things, she drew with the 21 participants via Zoom and made a plaster cast. (Photo: © Stuck Belz GmbH)
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Women in Crafts - Special Features
June 2021
Career guidance via Zoom works. Stuck Belz has proven it. At Girls' Day, students participated in online drawing, made a plaster cast, showed a self-produced video, and were given a tour of the workshop.
On Girls' Day, companies open their workshops to female students . Girls from the fifth grade onward get to know professions that are predominantly male. Participation is expressly encouraged. They stand at the lathe or go along to a construction site . They file a workpiece or climb scaffolding. At the end of the day, the participants should be able to say with conviction: I can also become a mechatronics engineer or a plasterer.
Everything is different in 2021. The pandemic prevents in-person events for Girls'Day . The organizers responded with a virtual format . Businesses were able to connect with the participants online. Can you spark interest in skilled trades via a screen? Michael Christmann took the plunge . "Despite the pandemic, we wanted the girls to learn practical skills with us, even if in a modified form, of what a plasterer does," explains the managing director of Stuck Belz, justifying his involvement.
A few days before the video conference , the registered participants receive a package from Stuck Belz containing the materials for the practical part: a pad and pen for drawing a rosette, a small silicone mold , and a small bag of plaster for making a cast.
Michael Christmann outlined the outline of the virtual internship. Two trainees took care of the details. "We gave Veronika Sadowski and Lena Belz the time and resources to implement their ideas."
The Chambers of Skilled Crafts in Germany - HWK of Saarland
Operations management
Operations management
The two first-year apprentices are allowed to take a day off to film a video . "The participants were able to send us an email beforehand with their questions , which we answer in the video . We also introduce them to the company and show them some of our construction sites ," explains Veronika Sadowski, outlining the 20-minute video. The film is scheduled to be shown at the beginning of the virtual Girls' Day at Stuck Belz.
Girls'Day 2021 on YouTube : Veronika Sadowski and Lena Belz have summarized how Girls'Day 2021 went at Stuck Belz in a two-minute video on YouTube entitled "The trainees from the 1st year show how stucco is made".
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Shortly before 9 a.m., Michael Christmann and Veronika Sadowski log onto Zoom . Twenty-one female students from all over Germany join the call. The managing director welcomes them. Otherwise, he remains in the background. His trainee moderates the next four hours. "Ms. Sadowski knows firsthand what it's like to be one of the few women working in a male-dominated profession. What could I possibly tell the girls?!"
The trainee becomes a teacher . Veronika Sadowski draws with the students. She shows the 12- to 16-year-olds how to mix the plaster and pour it into the silicone mold . She answers their questions throughout . If something gets stuck, she improvises .
The introductory round is shorter than planned. There are technical problems playing the video. Towards the end of the short internship, there's so much time left that she has to spontaneously extend the live tour of the workshop. Nevertheless, her overall impression is positive . "The girls and I had a lot of fun ," says Veronika Sadowski.
Michael Christmann is full of praise for his trainees ' performance . "We couldn't test the virtual format beforehand. It was incredible how quickly Ms. Sadowski improvised." He explicitly includes Lena Belz in his praise , however. She played a key role in the video's production but unfortunately couldn't attend Girls' Day.
The master plasterer feels vindicated in his decision to entrust the two young women with responsibility . "It's great to see what comes out of letting trainees work independently!"
But it wasn't just the two trainees who proved their worth. The managing director of Stuck Belz was able to use the online format again shortly after Girls' Day . The Bonn-based craft business offers a Voluntary Social Year (FSJ) in monument preservation . "In the theoretical lessons, our FSJ participant, together with the other participants, cast a small Beethoven relief in plaster online." Next, Michael Christmann is planning a corona-compliant, virtual trainee information evening via Zoom.
Niklas Koop was the first participant in the Voluntary Social Year (FSJ) program in monument preservation at Stuck Belz. How he found his way into the trades after completing his university entrance qualification and even during his FSJ can be read in the article "Away from the pen, towards the plastering trowel" on handwerksblatt.de.
Under normal circumstances, five female students from the Bonn area would be bustling around the Stuck Belz workshop during Girls' Day . This year, the participants came from all over Germany . However, Michael Christmann is under no illusions. " No girl from Hanover or Bremen is going to apply to us. " He does n't care whether the online format, forced upon him by the pandemic, was beneficial for recruiting young talent . "We've shown that young women have a future in the trades – no matter where they come from."
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