Apprenticeship car body builder

I wanted my apprenticeship to focus on the car as a product, so I started here as a mechatronics engineer. However, I soon realised that my talent lay more in the rough stuff. The challenge of making it look like new again is something I encounter here every day.

After researching at trade fairs and online, I kept ending up here, so I applied and now I like it.

Very pleasant and friendly. We are all on friendly terms with each other, can work well together and talk to each other without formalities.

Lights and radio are switched on first. You can't do without the radio, it just puts you in a much better mood. Then my mate divides up the work and we get started.

Replacing the bumper, changing a door or side panels. Simply everything that can break on the bodywork of a car in normal everyday life.

Not at the moment. I'm still in my first year of training and am only focussing on that for now.

Helpfulness, attentiveness and the team spirit, even outside of work. I've learnt to appreciate all of this even more since I realised that you can't do without it in the workshop.

Our boss has bought a classic car that he wants us to restore. I helped dismantle the classic car, but I'm not yet ready to work independently on a permanent basis. Every now and then I'm allowed to weld something, but I do the precise work together with my journeyman. We also want it to look good, just like new again!

I go to vocational school once a week. It's all about social studies and the learning field. In the learning field, the theory of everyday working life is divided into 12 subject areas, which we then go through step by step.

I specifically enquired about careers in the automotive sector. Initially, I wanted to become a motor vehicle mechatronics technician, but the places at CSB Schimmel were already taken. Then I was offered an apprenticeship as a body builder and I accepted after finding out more information.

The company immediately caught my eye at a training fair. I liked it at first sight. The employees at the fair seemed likeable and were very friendly and open. I liked that.

Working here is very pleasant for me. There is a friendly atmosphere across all departments. People always greet each other with a friendly smile and everyone helps each other. That makes it fun.

First I clock in, then I get changed. Only then do I actually get started. The lights are switched on everywhere and the first jobs are prepared.

I repair the broken parts, mostly bumpers, but trailer couplings and bonnets also often have to be replaced.

I don't have any specific ideas for a specialisation or further training yet, I've only just started, but the classic car sector would be worth considering.

Helpfulness can be found everywhere in the company! And the harmony here in the workshop. We all get on with each other. Nobody is marginalised or disadvantaged, which I particularly like.

Our boss bought the Mitsubishi classic car from a museum a few months ago. We are now supposed to restore and refurbish it. My colleague Renee and I are currently taking the interior completely apart in order to get to the hidden bodywork damage, which we will then repair.

Once a month, I go to vocational school for a week, plus an extra day. In social studies, I learn all about payroll accounting, concluding contracts, all the bureaucracy. My second subject, learning field, is all about my job. I learn the theoretical basics and how to handle all the parts on and in the car correctly.