Girls in special mechanical engineering
It is also important to FIMA to get girls interested in MINT professions. On yesterday's Girls' Day, five girls between the ages of eleven and thirteen from the Hermann-Merz-Schule in Ilshofen therefore had the opportunity to gain an insight into technical professions. As a special machine builder, we offer technical apprenticeships as construction mechanics (m/f/d) and product designers (m/f/d), among other things. As in most companies, there are still few women in technical professions at FIMA at the moment. Girls' Day is a good opportunity to get girls interested in STEM professions.
From 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the teens learned not only in theory, but also in practical exercises what lies behind the two apprenticeships. Construction mechanics manufacture machines according to drawings and are experts in working with metallic materials. Alana, Angelika, Nele, Noemi and Sophie were then able to show what the girls were capable of when they produced a steel cell phone holder. Training manager Rocco Di Franco and apprentice Julian Aller were always on hand to help them. The girls' enthusiasm for their work was plain to see, as the FIMA-fant they made made the girls' eyes light up.
After the lunch break, the focus was on the profession of product designer (m/f/d). FIMA apprentice Jasmin Wolf had prepared a few questions in advance: "What are the tasks of technical product designers and what do you imagine they do"? At first, the term was somewhat misleading for the teenagers, because as a product designer, you don't design the appearance of the products, but rather use various calculations to create the design and the production drawings via CAD. Katja Joas was also able to tell them something about the profession, because she completed a dual study program in this field. Finally, the experienced Diana Werkmann chatted out of the sewing box and revealed that she had goose bumps when her first constructed machine was tested in the test field more than 30 years ago and then delivered. A prerequisite for the technical professions is an interest in technology. The examples show that women also more than meet the necessary requirements and that there are different career paths for them.
And how was the day for the girls? The result was unanimous: All five girls found the day with us very interesting and also all FIMA participants had a lot of fun together with the teens!
