Girls still have reservations when it comes to technical professions. The MINT Girls Camp helps to overcome this and recruit female specialists for typically male domains.
Traditional gender roles on the labour market are changing - but only very slowly. Girls apply for apprenticeships as office administrators or nursery teachers, while boys are much more interested in technical professions or computer work. This is precisely where the MINT Girls Camp comes in. For one week, 20 girls aged between 14 and 16 from all over Hesse were able to take a look behind the scenes of professions in the fields of maths, IT, natural sciences and technology, or STEM for short - among themselves, in a protected environment. The aim of the initiative is to significantly weaken the clear division into typical male and female professions. As in previous years, the MINT Girls Camp was organised by Sportjugend Hessen and Provadis - Partner für Bildung und Beratung GmbH.
Stadtwerke Gießen takes part again
This year, the camp took place from 1 to 5 July. The young women met on Monday at the "Erlebniswelt Metall". At the Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) training centre, the girls first tried out various tools and work techniques. Not as an end in itself, however, but with the aim of producing their own workpiece: a little man made from pipe fittings. The MINT girls took this figure with them to the Bender company in Grünberg. Here they added LED modules to their workpieces in the heads and switches and USB sockets for the power supply in the arms. "The result was a very special luminaire," explains Ruth Biehl-Franze, who is responsible for training at SWG. "During this exciting week, the schoolgirls have the opportunity to gain their first practical experience in technical training professions. This will certainly help them to overcome their fears," she says confidently.
Counteracting the shortage of skilled labour
As in previous years, the camp concluded at SWG. On Friday afternoon, Hans-Jürgen Schulz, Head of Human Resources & Organisation at SWG, welcomed the girls to the municipal utilities for the last time. At this event, the young women presented their experiences and the lights they had built to their parents and representatives of the participating companies.
"We need to systematically support the many bright young minds in order to open up career prospects for them in STEM professions," emphasised Hans-Jürgen Schulz in his short speech. There is already a shortage of thousands of skilled workers across Germany, particularly in professions with a technical, mathematical or scientific background. Virtually all experts predict that this situation will continue to worsen. "Precisely because of the expected acute shortage of skilled labour, we would like to encourage young women not to be forced into conventional role stereotypes when choosing a career. This is precisely why we are happy to take part in the MINT Girls Camp," summarises Hans-Jürgen Schulz.