Young Cologne trainees transform Porz: Colorful facades against a lack of young people!

Young Cologne trainees transform Porz: Colorful facades against a lack of young people!

In Cologne-Porz, two houses on Celsiusstraße are now shining in bright colors-thanks to the creative minds of trainees from the painter craft. Cologne Epe Malerwerkstätten GmbH and the Guido Mertens painting company have realized an impressive facade work of art in collaboration with talented artists from the Berlin agency Graco. This project was funded by Brillux as part of the “Your Future is Colorful” initiative, which wants to put the painter craft in the limelight and in particular wants to appeal to young people.

The positive response from the neighborhood is further proof that the idea works. "The colorful facades are supposed to stimulate talks and distract from gray everyday life," explains the spokeswoman for the housing association Weighed Porz, which provided the facades. During an inspection, many passers-by praised the work of art, which the two 20-year-old trainees Jada and Kledino, who actively participated in the design, conjured up a broad smile on the face.

offspring in the painting trade

But this creative project is in the context of a major problem: the serious shortage of skilled workers in the craft. According to the current data, there are more than 150,000 unoccupied areas in the craft in Germany, with the painter and varnisher crafts particularly affected. In 2023, only 15,031 trainees were active in this area, which has meant a decline of 35 % since 2010, as [Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger] (https://www.ksta.de/koeln/koeln-azubis- design-fassaden-kunstwerk-fuers-Malershandwerk-1058534) reports.

To counteract this, the campaign "Your future is colorful" sets targeted accents to improve the image of the painting trade. The craft, one of the largest fields of work in Germany, has shown a noticeable fluctuation in training numbers with a clear downward trend since the 1990s. The encouragement grows, but the training capacities have to be increased in order to meet demand. The decline is so striking that only a third of 342,000 apprentices in 2023 are learned in craftsmanship.

A call to change

The example in Cologne emphasizes that creative approaches and positive experiences in the craft can help motivate young people to find their way in the craft. There are often information deficits about the diversity and the opportunities of the 130 apprenticeships in the craft. In addition to a broad spectrum of fields of activity, the numerous vacant training positions, such as in the professions in the building trade, also attract the central concern of the energy transition.

A event format such as the "Dzib School Tour", which took place on July 8 at the Hürth-Kendenich community, serves to inspire pupils for the painting trade and give practical insights to reduce the inhibition threshold. With a good range of training positions in sought -after professions, Cologne could become more attractive as a location for training and commercial careers.