Print version Recommend this page Press release
24/ 2008
Bonn, 12.06.2008
From the Reeperbahn to high-tech production - BIBB updates the recognized occupation Rope-maker
Skydivers trust the ropes and cords on their parachutes when they leap out of a plane. Tourists who travel to the top of mountains by funicular railway entrust their fate to the abilities of the people in the rope-making profession. Not only do tough nets protect our roads from falling rocks, nets are also to be found behind goals, like at the current European football championships. Whether it be microfibre ropes, towing ropes, lift cables or ship cables - ropes, cables and hawsers play a bigger role in everyday life than one would think. People's lives often depend of the ability of a rope or cable to bear weight. And rope-makers work the intertwined and knotted fibres and wires into products that have to meet the highest safety standards so that we can have confidence in them. The range of applications is wide: leisure time and sport activities, lifting engineering, transport, the construction industry, shipping, bridge-building as well as aeronautical engineering, space technology and medical engineering.
Working on behalf of the German government, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) has now revised the training regulations for the occupation Rope-maker with the aim of meeting the increased demands in the profession itself and the changing requirements arising in connection with technological advances seen in new materials, production techniques and new areas of application. The previous training regulations had been in effect since 1984. Experts and representatives from trade unions and employer associations played an important role in updating the training content for this occupation. The new training regulations will go into effect on 1 August 2008.
During their three-year training, rope-makers make ropes and nets out of natural fibres, chemical fibres and wire. Extreme durability and precision are required of ropes and nets. Today this is accomplished with the help of sophisticated production facilities.
By contrast, ropes used to be made or "laid" by hand - on Hamburg's Reeperbahn street near the city's harbour, for example. This street's name reflects this history: The word "reep" means heavy rope, cable or hawser. And even though many years have passed since then, technical and manual skills such as "splicing" - in other words, connecting the ends of two ropes or cables with one other - are still in use today.
Skills learned during rope-maker training include the ability to:
- Use various rope-splicing techniques,
- Make and use gear and equipment for connecting suspension elements with loads (e.g. ropes, chains and belts),
- Install ropes and nets and
- Inspect products for compliance with the most stringent quality and safety regulations.
A new feature in the updated training regulations is the option for trainees to focus on rope production, rope assembly or net assembly during their third year of training, an option that was added due to the different areas of specialization in the companies providing training. "Assembly" entails combining individual elements of a rope or net with additional fittings to produce an aggregate product such as "monkey swings" for playgrounds or trawl nets for the fishing industry.
The increase in the number of trainees for this occupation in recent years shows that this sector urgently needs well-trained, qualified skilled workers. The occupation Rope-maker therefore offers good prospects for the future.
Further information is available in German on the internet at:
Point of contact for information at BIBB:
Christiane Reuter, Tel.: +49 (0) 228 107 2225; E-mail: reuter@bibb.de
