Apprenticeship final exams in the sewer training centre
Switzerland has a sewerage network of over 130,000 km in length with 800 connected treatment plants. In comparison, a human has 100,000 km of pipes in the body, if all the thick and thin veins were connected. No matter whether the sewerage network or the human being, in both areas the sewers have to be maintained, inspected or, depending on the case, rehabilitated. While in medicine, trained and qualified doctors have been carrying out maintenance work on humans for centuries, there was no professional training in the field of drainage technology for a long time.
This changed in 2009, when the industry leaders committed themselves to a new job description and founded the training umbrella organisation of the sewer maintenance industry (advk). The milestone had been set, the challenge in its elaboration intensive.
Full of pride and optimism, advk was able to welcome the very first apprentices in 2014. The first three graduates, received the first Swiss Federal Professional Certificate as drainage practitioners EBA after two years of training. In 2017 the very first 26 drainage technologists EFZ with a federal certificate of proficiency followed. By the summer of 2019, the industry already has 70 graduates.
During this year's extraordinary COVID-19 situation, 36 candidates were recently in the qualification process in the Hagerbach Test Gallery. In addition to the practical challenge, the focus this year was on the Swiss governments' hygiene regulations and protective measures. The protective measures and normal hygiene regulations have always been implemented in the industry. However, the prescribed distance of two metres should not be underestimated.
Our team from the Hagerbach Test Gallery has done its utmost to ensure that all the regulations are implemented. We wish all young professionals every success in their professional careers.
