DKV International Heat Pump Symposium

3 questions to …
Manfred Seikel and Dietmar Schittenhelm
on “trainees in the industry”
Chillventa: What are the most important technical, political and marketorientated
variables influencing the trainee situation in the refrigeration
and air conditioning industry at present
Manfred Seikel/Dietmar Schittenhelm: The population in Germany
has been declining since 2003 and is still decreasing. On a purely
statistical basis, twice as many older people as younger people are
expected by 2050, i.e. people of a relevant age for training. However,
the refrigeration and air conditioning industry can only meet the
great challenges facing it with well-trained trainees.
Manfred Seikel (l.) and
Dietmar Schittenhelm
Manfred Seikel is Director of the Federal College of Refrigeration and
Air Conditioning Technology (BFS) in Maintal/Niedersachswerfen.
Dietmar Schittenhelm is Head of the BFS Training and Technology
Centre in Maintal. BFS is one of the honorary sponsors of Chillventa.
Chillventa: What activities and solutions do the training establishments
offer in response to these requirements and challenges
Manfred Seikel/Dietmar Schittenhelm: Training institutions must
advertise with alternative, modern and trend-setting programmes
for all training in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry.
The training establishments must also cooperate more closely with
the companies to specifically promote new talent.
Chillventa: What role will be played by the new Chillventa exhibition
in October 2008
Manfred Seikel/Dietmar Schittenhelm: Companies presenting
their products at Chillventa can selectively recruit new talent through
personal contact. The training institutions represented at the exhibition
can also publicize the possibilities for promoting new talent and the
qualifications.
BITZER donates refrigeration professorship
The Senator Peter Schaufler Foundation is donating € 1 million
to support the “Endowed Professorship for Refrigeration and
Compressor Technology” at Dresden University of Technology.
The professorship is to start in October 2008, when the present
chairholder Prof. Hans Quack retires, and will initially run for five
years. ✦
www.tu-dresden.de
8 Chillventa News ✦ October 2007