"Women consciously choose a MINT profession and stand behind it with great commitment!"

06/05/2020

Bergisch Competentia, Mai 2020

Heinz Berger Maschinenfabrik GmbH is innovative, internationally active, modernly managed - and in one aspect quite ‘classic’: the technical professions are predominantly held by men. The Bergisch company is happy to work to change this, and is increasingly targeting women when it comes to promoting young talent.

The welder Lisa Wittke works in the assembly department at Heinz Berger Maschinenfabrik GmbH. Her training in her "typical male profession" was logical for her personally: "My father is a locksmith, I always helped a lot at home and wanted to do something with my hands," she says. After her school internship in a locksmith's shop, the course was finally set for her, and in 2008 she looked for an apprenticeship in a company in Solingen. Since then the industrial mechanic has got to know several companies. With one exception, she was always outnumbered as a female specialist. She finds this striking, but not problematic:
"I have never had the impression that I was treated at a disadvantage in any way," she says. Sometimes, she says, it can be felt that women in the college make a difference. But then rather in a positive way: The manners in the college improve, and that does not go hand in hand with less confidence in the professional world. Since 2017, she has been a member of staff at the specialist for grinding and polishing technology in Kohlfurth and has thus already raised the quota of women a little.

AROUSING ENTHUSIASM FOR EXCITING PROFESSIONS

The Bergisch company employs mainly men. With a share of less than 10 percent, women are underrepresented in the technical field - albeit involuntarily. "We would like to have more women in our company and are particularly open to their applications," says Dr. Andreas Groß. As Managing Director of the internationally active company, he is personally committed to promoting young talent and explicitly addresses young women, for example with Girls’ Day. However, finding new blood has never been difficult. With around 70 interns and a few female interns and a broad commitment to junior universities, schools and colleges, the company is confidently positioning itself as an attractive trainer and employer. The Managing Director talks to the interns personally to get to know them. Anyone who is interested usually has a good chance of getting an apprenticeship. "We are not a production company, our business is about higher technology, development and design. We make our exciting professions come alive. Many people cannot imagine what they are doing and are really enthusiastic when we show them how a robot is moved by programming," says Dr. Groß, who is himself an electrical engineer and is "burning" for his profession.

Women have exactly the same development opportunities as men at Heinz Berger Maschinenfabrik GmbH. "Our female specialists and our female engineers do not need to prove themselves in any special way or strive for recognition", emphasizes Dr. Andreas Groß and points to a highly qualified female engineer as a top performer in the company. Lisa Wittke can also confirm this in her department. She can carry out her profession with exactly the same self-conception with which she took it on.