“Grandma was surprised” – Prefab company: 7 out of 8 interns are women

High school and then college – Bernadette Buchgraber and Jasmin Thimet also took this road. “But I soon realized I didn’t like it,” says Buchgraber. So she looked around and discovered an internship at Haas Fertigbau in Großwilfersdorf.

At Thimet, it was a summer job that gave Styria the idea of ​​an apprenticeship in timber construction. “The interest has always been there. I was happy to help my father with crafts at home,” says the 20-year-old.

So it happened that of the eight apprentices at the prefab home company, seven are currently women – even though the industry is dominated by men. “This is mainly due to word of mouth,” explains HR manager Eva Leber. “We are open to everyone and make no distinction.”

What is special about the female interns is that they are already in their early or mid-twenties. “For example, one of them has a bachelor’s degree in Japanese Studies. They’re doing second-chance training, they know what they want and they’re really throwing themselves into it.”

“You shouldn’t be weak“
Buchgraber and Thimet have been learning the trade of prefab house builders for two years now. At first, only the grandmothers were surprised. “Mine meant: such a hard job is not for a girl,” laughs Buchgraber. But soon the topic was over. And do you really need a lot of muscle power? Thimet: “You shouldn’t be very weak. There has to be a willingness to grab something.” Also: a certain confidence in handling tools and tolerance for getting up early.

“You do something different every day”
What the students appreciate most is the variety. “You learn how to build a house from start to finish and do something different almost every day,” says Thimet enthusiastically. “I definitely want to stay in wood construction. It’s a job with a future.”