Without craftsmen and -women, we would be out in the cold without walls and a ceiling to shelter us. By employing this picture, Klaus Lamprecht, Mayor of the City of Suhl, raised awareness for the high significance of the crafts during his welcoming speech on occasion of this year's master craftsman graduation ceremony at the Chamber of Crafts South Thuringia.
It may sound banal, but without the crafts, we would be unable to lead the normal lives we are used to. Likewise indispensable are the degrees of qualification in the crafts. The title of master awards a craftsman, be it a mechanic, carpenter, hairdresser, painter or mason, the qualification of running his or her own business and of providing vocational training for apprentices.
In Suhl, witnessed by 420 guests, including federal government and federal state government members of parliament as well as numerous regional politicians, and, of course, by their proud parents, friends and family members, 137 freshly graduated master craftsmen in 15 different lines of trade received their certificates and marks of quality. In addition, the Chamber of Crafts South Thuringia awarded the title of business administrator to 29 young men and women.
On this day, young graduates from a total of ten federal states enjoyed their well-deserved graduation celebrations. The large-format master craftsman diplomas and certificates in their hand, they all now close a valuable chapter in their personal vocational training and continuing education and embark on new paths in their lives and careers.
Degree of value
Helmut Adamy, President of the Chamber of Crafts South Thuringia, spoke of the "personal mastership" the graduates had proven and of the weight the title of master craftsman carries by way of an international mark of quality. Also, he pointed out that both professional and personal success alike have to be fought for every single day and that, with their new qualification, the young specialists had obtained a degree of value they should not sell themselves short of.
"Craftsmen are experts and have their price", the chamber of crafts president emphasised. Yet, he continued, it is also important for these experts to now present themselves on the market as master craftsmen and to commit themselves to promoting their respective trade within the guilds and the chamber of crafts in order to contribute towards shaping a modern crafts system.
This year's graduation ceremony speaker Dr Volker Born, Head of the Department for Vocational Education and Training at the Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks (ZDH - German Central Association of Skilled Trades), highlighted the uniqueness of craftsmanship compared to the industrial mass product and clearly stated that the vocational training towards a master craftsman diploma is equal to an academic bachelor study course.
Today, he added, vocational continuing education has a much higher status than a few years ago. These days, the first degree of apprenticeship only lays the foundation for lifelong learning. He is all the more delighted, he said, that the 2011/12 graduates included craftsmen and women ranging in age between 21 and 54 years. He also stressed that with their degree, they had all been given a good measure of responsibility. This included not only responsibility for new apprentices, but also the duty to promote enthusiasm for the respective trade on a broader scale in society and to prove over and over again the fact that quality and craftsmanship are inseparable.