5. Rank for Denis Durrer at the "Swiss Skills"

Author: Erika Windlin, Head of Training, Leister Switzerland

Inspired by electronics from an early age

As a little boy he liked to disassemble electronic toys to explore their "inner life". "It happened now and then that a toy no longer functioned smoothly after being assembled," says Denis Durrer (18) with a smile. But this in no way diminished his interest in electronics. On the contrary: The career choice process in the upper school was unproblematic for him, and he quickly found the teaching profession. That was three years ago. Since then, Denis has been completing an apprenticeship as an electronic technician EFZ at the Leister company, including a vocational baccalaureate.

Successful preliminary round

Denis recently started the fourth and final year of apprenticeship. However, the qualification procedure next summer is not the only challenge he chose. Another one was the "Swiss Skills" Championships of the electronic engineers EFZ. First he had to survive the preliminary round in Bern at the beginning of July, in which 66 candidates from all over Switzerland took part. Four elements - homework, presentation, personality test and on-site tasks - had to be mastered, which Denis did brilliantly. With 73 out of 100 points, he qualified for the official Swiss championships of electronic technicians EFZ.

Support in teaching

By qualifying for this event Denis was already considered one of the best 12 electronic engineers in Switzerland. But he did not want to let it rest. "If I can be part of the big final, I want to achieve something," he said shortly before the competition. The preparation was intensive. Together with his vocational trainer Mathias Michel, Denis solved several tasks from old partial and final examinations from previous weeks. Since experience has shown that time is very limited at such competitions, it was also necessary to automate processes in order not to lose any unnecessary time. Another challenge of the three and a half days of competition was to keep concentration high and not to be distracted by what was going on around you. We supported Denis as much as possible, because the "Swiss Skills" Championships were a special challenge and a premiere event for us as well. Erika Windlin, Director of Education: "We are very proud of Denis and his performance in Ebikon and have done everything to ensure he performs successfully, which we believe has been accomplished."