BASF Coatings trainees Katharina Fühner and Abdenacer Benomar are taking the opportunity to meet their peers from technical occupations in Europe and learn from them. Katharina Fühner, in training as a process mechanic for coating technology, and Abdenacer Benomar, training to be an automotive painter, have just taken part in the Comenius Technology Challenge in Elgoibar, a city in the Basque Country in the north of Spain. Trainees in the area of process technology and automotive painting from companies in Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands and Norway met in Elgoibar, gathering theoretical and practical experience in their areas of work that will play a major role in their future careers. Involvement in the Comenius Project itself is a distinction that will serve as an important added qualification for their professional futures.
The two trainees were selected for the project by their teacher Thomas Feist from the Adolf Kolping vocational school in Münster. BASF Coatings is supporting the successful exchange, which promotes the next generation of experts in technical professions. As Bernd-Jürgen May, head of Professional Education at BASF Coatings, puts it, "In addition to expertise in theory and practice, for us as a global company, factors such as intercultural work are also important elements when it comes to training our young people. We want to communicate this to them early on in their professional careers in order to help them be well equipped later on."
The two trainees were enthusiastic about the project too. They had also made sure they were excellently prepared to participate. For instance, before leaving for Spain, Fühner made a video about powder coating, which was then shown during the project. The other participants had brought along films from their areas of work too. "The films gave a very clear impression of what our daily work on the job looks like. They were very instructive and made a great impression on all the participants," Fühner reports.
Last year's meeting was held in Münster and was organized by the teachers at the Adolf Kolping vocational school. The schedule included a tour of the BASF Coatings plant, which gave the European friends an opportunity to learn about the latest coating technologies.
The two trainees were selected for the project by their teacher Thomas Feist from the Adolf Kolping vocational school in Münster. BASF Coatings is supporting the successful exchange, which promotes the next generation of experts in technical professions. As Bernd-Jürgen May, head of Professional Education at BASF Coatings, puts it, "In addition to expertise in theory and practice, for us as a global company, factors such as intercultural work are also important elements when it comes to training our young people. We want to communicate this to them early on in their professional careers in order to help them be well equipped later on."
The two trainees were enthusiastic about the project too. They had also made sure they were excellently prepared to participate. For instance, before leaving for Spain, Fühner made a video about powder coating, which was then shown during the project. The other participants had brought along films from their areas of work too. "The films gave a very clear impression of what our daily work on the job looks like. They were very instructive and made a great impression on all the participants," Fühner reports.
Last year's meeting was held in Münster and was organized by the teachers at the Adolf Kolping vocational school. The schedule included a tour of the BASF Coatings plant, which gave the European friends an opportunity to learn about the latest coating technologies.
