27/03/2014
Girls’Day at Voith: 31 Girls Experience Technical Jobs First Hand
As part of the national Girls’Day, 31 girls from grades six to eight of schools from Heidenheim and surrounding areas informed themselves about technical careers at the Voith training center today. Girls’Day is Germany's largest career orientation project for girls and meant to promote and support their interest in technical jobs.
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- Zur Großansicht
Voith has been participating in this career prospects event for girls since 2002 and introduces interested pupils to technical jobs and study courses. This year, the focus at Voith was on apprenticeships as industrial mechanic, mechatronics technician and technical product designer.
The young visitors were invited to try their practical skills at three work stations, supported by Voith apprentices. Using a drawing, they assembled individual parts and bolts into a unit, built an electric circuit and created a 3-D component with a CAD program. The young ladies also looked at the test tank for the Voith Schneider Propeller and were able to steer and control a water tractor with the simulator under near realistic conditions.
Konstanze Lichtenstein, training instructor for technical product design, organized the Girls'Day at Voith and knows that technical jobs are not necessarily the first choice of young girls: "This is mainly due to the fact that they do not have enough opportunities to test themselves in this area. At the Girls’Day we can give practical demonstrations of a number of jobs and thus eliminate prejudices. It is wonderful to see with how much enthusiasm and commitment the girls apply themselves to the various tasks." The Voith apprentice Sofia Kuch attended the Girls'Day at Voith seven years ago. For her, this day was a decisive milestone and encouraged her to apply for an apprenticeship as product designer. This is why she recommends that all girls take part: "At the Girls'Day you get to know a range of different technical jobs. As a result, you are able to assess what you really like and which job you would like to do later. Additionally, we girls can once and for all prove that technology isn't just for boys."
The patronage for the Girls’Day lies with the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the European Union. Based on the German model, the event is meanwhile also held in other European countries. At the Girls'Day, girls are introduced to jobs where the quota of women in employment or training currently takes up no more than 40 percent.
