Today’s world of work poses great challenges to each and every one of us. This is especially true for young people who are concerned with their career entry. Preparatory schools are therefore called upon to provide them with the necessary tools. We wanted to know from Markus Gadient how the LIPSCHULE succeeds in doing this. In his function as a vocational trainer at libs Industrial Berufslehren Schweiz, he employs one of our former students and told us in a personal interview about his experiences.

Mr. Gadient, which apprenticeship it is specifically and in which apprenticeship year is the young man in question?

The apprentice is currently in the first year of his apprenticeship as a polymechanic.

How is he doing so far and are you satisfied with his development?

Yes, I am very happy with him. He is open, communicative, eager to learn and helpful – all qualities that we value enormously at Iibs and that will definitely help him in his professional life.

What do you want from an educational institute? What works well, what needs to be improved?

For me, social skills such as independence, the ability to communicate and work in a team, flexibility and a willingness to learn are important. Fortunately, many young people have already acquired these skills during their school career. What gives me food for thought however, is the general trend in society, where values such as respect, tolerance and patience are increasingly being lost. I have often experienced that our trainees quickly lose interest in something if it doesn’t work from the beginning. To counteract this, we are all challenged: parents and employers, but also preparatory schools.

What do you think distinguishes learners who have completed their school career at the LIPSCHULE from their colleagues?

This is a difficult question to answer, as until now we have not yet been in charge of any learners from the LIPSCHULE. However, I have noticed that young people who come to us from private schools, such as LIP, generally have an easier time achieving good results at vocational school. I attribute this to the fact that they are already used to independent learning and do not have to learn it first.