Enthusiasm for technology - is there only a program with the mouse? Germany-wide my trainer: Too few girls learn technical jobs and work in them, on top of that the interest among boys in commercial technical jobs (screwing, turning, etc.) decreases.

Hydro wants to counteract this by contacting school classes at primary school. "The cooperation with the elementary school Sankt Josef in Grevenbroicher Erftwerkstraße is a first attempt", says Manfred Geißen, training manager in Grevenbroich. Relationships helped: Christoph Glasmacher, training manager at Rheinwerk Neuss, is the chairman of the school care team at St. Josef.

With practical knowledge of Hydro, children should be introduced to science and technology in the classroom. You will also get to know the professional world in production.

"At the Family Day 2011 at the Grevenbroich plant, we saw that the children of our employees were very impressed by the large operating facilities and were fascinated by some facts and special features relating to aluminum. If we now awaken this fascination in other students, the basis grows that they may later work here in the factory, on aluminum, or at least in technical professions, ”says plant manager Dr. Stefan Kästner.

Specifically, the new collaboration begins with students visiting the training workshop. The teaching staff should also get to know the factory operations and be able to continue their training with internships or project days.

Fourth graders in particular will find out how vocational training works, can be asked by apprentices at Hydro. The Josef students are also allowed to "do it themselves" with aluminum on a project day. Hydro employees also come to school, tell how they found what they do in their current job, and teach them about aluminum.

Help in the IHK project "Tu WaS!"

Manfred Geißen says: "As sponsors of the school, we also help with their participation in the ´TuWaS! ´ project of the Bonn / Rhein-Sieg Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Cologne Chamber of Commerce and Industry." TuWaS stands for technology and natural sciences at schools. For this purpose, the school trains sufficient teachers for this learning offer and gradually takes a so-called “learning box” in all classes every semester.

In this half of the school year, the school begins with the learning boxes "Chemical Tests" and "Solids and Liquids" in grades 2 and 3. This concept of "investigative learning" is intended to reinforce the practical relevance of science and technology in the classroom in order to improve long-term to get more young people interested in technical professions again.

Hydro also provides visual aids and helps when Josef teachers plan and implement interdisciplinary subjects: up to project diaries in German, cost calculations in mathematics or artistic work. Plant manager Kästner: “There are many opportunities for long-term cooperation. We're just going to start for a year now and learn what works well. ”