Spotlight on young talents in electrical installation
Apprentice competitions are the springboard to events such as WorldSkills and EuroSkills – this is something that we talked about in one of our recent blog posts. Electrical installation is one field in which the annual regional apprentice competitions are becoming increasingly popular. A few competitors even qualify for WorldSkills, such as Stefan Prader, who will carry the Austrian flag at this year’s WorldSkills event in Kazan. Support with working materials is of course also needed in order to stage the competitions. We often rely on an expert in electrical installations for this. The EuroSkills sponsor Hager Electro is particularly committed to supporting young talent. It is essential for young people to encounter the continuous development of various “working materials” early on in their training, confirms Robert Marzy from Hager: “Electrical installations are the heart and soul of any building. Electrical installation is an indispensable trade, which – with the ongoing development of renewables, Smart Homes and the Internet of Things – also has an eye on the future.”
The reigning national Electrical Installations champion Stefan Prader (Gernot Prader Elektrotechnik) is preparing for WorldSkills Kazan with equipment from hager.
Of the Apprentice to the Superelectrician
That’s why the Austrian company reached out to the organisers of the regional apprentice competitions in three Austrian provinces and supplied them with materials etc., to support tasks such as modern home automation – this being one of the main ones to be tackled by the apprentices. The apprentices were judged by an expert jury that examined criteria such as correct installation, implementation, compliance with safety measures, functionality of control technology, documentation and other criteria. In the Province of Upper Austria, Elektro Schuster employee Raphael Aichinger emerged as the winner, while Dominik Fromm, from the company Gernot Prader Elektrotechnik and a colleague of the current state champion Stefan Prader, was awarded the gold medal in the Province of Styria. The Province of Burgenland saw a very special surprise victory: Denis Ilyes (from Elektro Eberhaut) only stood in for a sick colleague at the last minute but ended up top of the podium – his final apprenticeship examination and the national championships are the challenges that await him in the coming year. EuroSkills sponsor hager will continue to support the apprentices in the competitions, and the reigning national champion Stefan Prader is also preparing for the event in Kazan using materials from Hager. Young, properly trained electrical installers are key to a successful future for the industry, says Robert Marzy: “As a manufacturer of innovative electrical products and solutions, we think it’s important to promote young people and their ongoing training and to sponsor national and international competitions.”
