At the acquittal ceremony of the Oberland painters and varnishers' guild, 27 up-and-coming craftsmen received their journeyman's letters.
In the celebratory speech and the greetings, the best career prospects were forecast for the 2021 winter and summer exams.
District
- "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, ...": At the end of his speech, Guild Master Robert Mateyka started a countdown together with the bachelors.
At “zero” the time had come: the time for the professional clock of the young painters and varnishers was set.
“Your time is now!” Mateyka let each graduate know.
The term “time” ran like a red thread through Mateyka's celebratory speech.
The acquittal ceremony, musically designed by the folk music duo "San Zwoa", traditionally took place in the library hall in Pollingen.
The walls, abundantly equipped with craftsmanship, are predestined for such occasions.
And the Oberland guild has a very special relationship with the library hall: six years ago it helped with its renovation - as part of an apprenticeship project.
Historical ambience for a worthy setting
The historical ambience gave the acquittal again this year a worthy setting: "Remember the occasion, because it is an expression of the social importance of the craftsman training", said Mateyka in the direction of the bachelors.
The head master also appealed to the graduates to understand "time" as a precious commodity and not to waste it: "The apprenticeship time is up, but time goes on."
The painting and varnishing trade would offer the best prospects for the future: “Stick with it. You have all options. They will have a secure job and a good income ”, says Mateyka:“ In the future, skilled workers will be even more sought after than they are now. ”The journeymen should take the time to use the wide range of further training opportunities and themselves to volunteer. They should also define clear goals and communicate them. "Don't run out of time, or you'll run after it later," emphasized Mateyka.
The bachelors received warm words in the greetings from Polling's Mayor Martin Pape (“The craft has golden ground”), district master craftsman Michael Andrä (“The craft is a mainstay of society”) and the deputy district administrator Wolfgang Taffertshofer: “The Painters and varnishers not only bring color into play, but also many new ideas.
That is good for us in Germany, ”explained the deputy district administrator.
27 out of 34 trainees passed
34 apprentices took part in the final exam in 2021, 27 of which passed. Mateyka spoke of a "satisfactory result" - even if the rate of successful deals in 2020 was 93 percent. The average grade in the practical part was 3.0 (2020: 2.6) and in the theoretical part 3.6 (2020: 3.5). "This is a stable trend - even in difficult times," said Mateyka, referring to the difficulties caused by the Corona crisis.
The winners of the guild were Felipe Wellinger (Florian Palmberger, Ettal) and Christoph Ginter (Georg Ginter GmbH, Pähl), and Maximilian Steigenberger (Hansjörg Junker, Dießen) and Tobias Herrmann (Graefe in Color, Weilheim) as the second winners. After the acquittal ceremony, the graduates went to the monastery beer garden - “to enjoy one or two pints of beer,” as Mateyka announced with a smile.
Bernhard Jepsen