Attracting girls to a career in maths, IT, science and technology - that is the aim of the MINT Girls Camps. At this year's event, schoolgirls from Hesse put their technical skills to the test at the Stadtwerke Gießen training centre, among other places.
Many companies are already experiencing a shortage of skilled labour in technical professions. Experts expect this problem to worsen in the coming years and that there will be an enormous shortage of young talent. The Hessen Sports Youth Association in the Hessen State Sports Federation and Provadis - Partner für Bildung und Beratung GmbH want to counteract this. In cooperation with the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development, the Hessian Ministry of Education and the Hessian Regional Directorate of the Federal Employment Agency, they organise the so-called MINT Girls Camps every year.
Young women between the ages of 14 and 16 are given the opportunity to slip into the role of trainees in technical professions for a week and gain initial experience. The camp includes sports activities and evening programmes where the girls can reflect on and consolidate what they have learned. The project has been financed by the state of Hesse since 2011 with funding from the European Social Fund and the Hesse Regional Directorate of the Federal Employment Agency.
On 4 and 5 August, the young women at this year's MINT Girls Camp were once again given an insight behind the scenes at Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG). For two days, they learnt about the work in SWG's metal and electrical training workshops, were able to try out small projects themselves and test their skills. "Unfortunately, schoolgirls still have reservations when it comes to technical professions. We want to take this away from them," explains Georg Erb from the Human Resources & Organisation department at SWG.
Many valuable experiences gained
This year's programme for the MINT Girls Camp participants included two practical days at SWG and one practical day each at the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen and Deutsche Telekom. They presented their experiences to parents and representatives of the participating companies on Friday 8 August in the main building of Stadtwerke Gießen. One of the participants was SWG board member Reinhard Paul. He emphasised: "Upcoming challenges can only be solved with committed and well-trained junior staff. They help shape the future. This is precisely why it is important to us to break down unnecessary barriers and encourage schoolgirls to take up professions with a technical, mathematical or scientific background."