Vocational training for the woodworking industries: 

College of Wood Technology (Holzfachschule) Bad Wildungen

The Holzfachschule is located in the city of Bad Wildungen in Germany, a small village nestled in the Kellerwald Hills. For over 300 years people have been visiting the city for its healing springs and baths. Bad Wildungen is the second largest spa town in Germany and presents a mixture of medieval romance with buildings from the 19th century and the Jugendstil. The city with its rural location also offers a wide variety of outdoor recreational activities including hiking, cycling and water sports. Extensive hilly woodlands and the Eder reservoir are asking out. In addition, the Hessian spa is offering a rich cultural program which would be a credit to even bigger cities.

The Holzfachschule is located on a park-like campus at the northern fringe of the city.

History

The Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen was established as a central vocational school for sawmill working on April 10, 1953. The Holzfachschule is the successor of the "Berufserziehungsstätte Sägewerke e.V. Berleburg" which already had been inaugurated in 1939 and had started its work during the Second World War in 1942. In Bad Wildungen, the Holzfachschule originally consisted of four teaching buildings with integrated boarding, a teaching sawmill, and an administration building with kitchen and dining room. At the beginning courses where to be held for frame saw operators and saw sharpeners however, courses for workers in round wood, saw timber and wood drying were added. Today, the modern Holzfachschule presents itself with the most extensive education and training opportunities for the entire wood sector including timber trade.

Quality/ Networks

Being a private school the Holzfachschule is especially obliged to a continuous quality improvement of its services offered. The main processes and measures are being supported and controlled by means of quality management. That means regular surveys of customer satisfaction and a continuous development of educational offers are in the main focus of the quality management efforts.
In this context the Holzfachschule is a member of the Association of Continuing Education Hessen, and is a certified institution of AZMW offering courses for the German Labor Agency.

Buildings and Facilities

Around 15 buildings are spread across a large 45,000 m² square campus containing interspersed greenery and considerable expansion reserves. There are some 20 classrooms, computer rooms, drafting rooms, and a large auditorium for community events which can easily accommodate 200 people. The teaching sawmills and drying chambers form the core for education and training in wood processing. The carpentry building contains four independent operational machine rooms and an advanced painting shop for education and training in wood processing. The federal college for model building, within the Holzfachschule includes two complete machine rooms containing sophisticated CNC/CAD equipment and lots of bench space. There is an online link between the computer room and all CNC equipment making it possible to work and send computer exercises to the processing machines.
The Holzfachschule is particularly proud of its extensive wood samples, materials, and parts collection including a curio cabinet filled with specimens of timber and tree growth anomalies. The development of a wood museum might even be worth considering due to the magnitude of exhibits.

Boarding and Meals

The school boasts a large cafeteria offering three fresh meals daily. There is also a small independently owned pub on campus which is open every evening. Distributed throughout nine buildings are some 250 student dorm rooms. The rooms range in size and commodities offered depending on the students needs. Each room is equipped with the necessary connections for phone, TV and internet. Overall the campus gives off the impression of a small village with little commercial enterprises.

Education and Information

Since its creation, the Holzfachschule has served as a vocational school for trainees and apprentices from the areas of sawmilling, gluelam construction & planing and block board works. The educational institution is an officially recognized as national vocational school for woodworking in the German federal states of Hessia, North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein. It also offers inter company training courses for apprenticeship carpenters, model makers and timber merchants. In addition, a special course for the perception modeler (ASMB) is also offered. There are training courses for skilled workers being offered as well, these courses include: sawmilling, saw and tool sharpening, wood drying (seasoning), and other specialized courses dealing with hard wood lumber, softwood timber, drafting, staircases and other more specialized courses.
A significant amount of preparatory training courses are offered for industrial foreman. These industrial foreman become masters with specialized skilled training in carpentry, model building and technical business administration for the timber industry. Seminars and meetings for proprietors and managers deal with issues such as customer psychology, sales success, personal development for leadership & leadership psychology, management techniques, negotiation, operations management & productivity, and product pricing for joiners to name a few.

Association Meetings and Company Meetings

Association meetings at both the federal and state level are held at the Holzfachschule. This is in addition to the seminars offered for proprietors, managers and entrepreneurs of the timber industry. Another special feature of the school are the field trips, excursions and fairs that students have the chance to attend.

Teachers-Carriers-Finances

The 18 full time teachers at Holzfachschule are complimented by part time teachers from the local vocational school. There are also seminars and special courses with guest speakers from business advisory and senior management of the timber industry and its suppliers. The Holzfachschule has a selection of highly specialized teachers who are masters in their field. This is an advantage for the students here, to be able to work so closely with professionals in their field. The school is accredited and privately owned. It is also incorporated with approximately 200 members throughout the entire wood economy and the accompanying industry.

Career Prospects

Among technical professions such as carpentry or saw milling, those who have the best chance of finding a good job and getting a higher income are the ones with technical degrees. A better education can mean better job security, professional & social advancement and a higher income. The knowledgeable worker has a greater value, and higher recognition. With a strong background education, one can expect higher personal and professional success. The Holzfachschule offers practical training which is fully recognized throughout the timber industry.

Outlook

The Holzfachschule Bad Wildungen with its modern facilities offers extensive hands on experience and training. The education program with its proven team of specialists and teachers offers the best conditions for acquiring knowledge in the entire timber industry. The school seeks to act as a competent entity for the contribution and communication of information throughout the entire timber industry, and to communicate its performance by an intensive public relations work with the outside world.

Further information see: http://www.college-of-wood-technology.com/