Hello first of all. My name is Henrike, I’m 20 years old and I’m training to be a draughtswoman here at the Kanne Group. As my fellow trainees have already told me a lot about their working lives, I thought why not tell you something about everyday school life, as you can’t avoid going to school during your training.
After a month at the company, I was ready to start. With my luck, I wasn’t allowed to go to school once or twice a week, but had block lessons. This lucky streak continued when I found out that all the first-year draughtsmen were in the same class as the bricklayers.
The first thing we learned in politics class was what the dual training system is. This means that training consists of a practical part in the company and a theoretical part at vocational school. So far so good. In German lessons, we continued with the task of recognizing and analyzing main and subordinate clauses. That was manageable. In English lessons, we were then asked to write a profile about ourselves. You would think that this was also manageable, but some of my classmates presented it in German (this really happened). After we had finished the basics and started with the new topics such as masonry construction or developing a building plot, I was happy to learn something new. Nevertheless, I still doubt to this day that mixing cement is necessary knowledge for draughtsmen.
Some would describe block teaching as a luxury, but I see it as torture. If you were ill and not present, you miss a lot of learning material in a very short time and then have to learn it in parallel with the new material. It is also difficult to get back into the company and daily work after four weeks of school (and vice versa).
However, the whole thing has one advantage, because after the 6-8 hours of school you get to finish work and can enjoy your free time, for which you also get paid your full salary.
But all joking aside. I see vocational school as a balance to the work in the company. You learn the theoretical background and can therefore better comprehend and understand various processes and topics.
By: Henrike Borghorst, draftswoman
