As part of the Erasmus+ project named 2019-1-TR01-KA102-068250 Safe Installation Techniques for Lifts, which was prepared collectively by the Nihat Şimdi, the Principal of Etimesgut Şehit Hasan Gülhan Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School and Ergin Hiçyılmaz, the Chief Area Manager of Electric-Electronic and Anıl Şenol, the Chief Workshop Manager of Lift Systems, 18 students (for internship purpose) and nine teachers (for on-the-job observation purpose) made several visits to Germany, Romania and Hungary in 2022.
by Ergin Hiçyılmaz
In the developing countries, the construction sector, and concordantly the lift industry, grow through a great acceleration with the impact of urbanization. According to the data from the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, the number of technical staff working at the more than 2,000 lift installation companies is around 17,000. Given the number of companies and employees, the lift industry has a strategic position due to its contribution to more of the regional employment. Alongside its dynamic nature, the lift industry harbors high occupational safety risks in the workmanship area. The developed countries in Europe have managed to zero out such risks through occupational safety discipline and training.
The construction sector in our country ranks number two in occupational accidents and number one within the occupational accidents resulting in death and incapacity. According to European Lift Association (ELA) data, two-thirds of lift installation accidents involving death in Europe occur in our country. According to International Labor data, lift installation workers carry three to six times more risk of having an occupational accident.
Our school is one of the two schools providing training on lift systems in Ankara, and it is the most experienced school, as it has been producing graduates in this area since 2000. At the school, our students receive theoretical training on lift installation and maintenance and practical training on the restricted facilities. These school trainings are carried out only on a prototype lift (1/2 scaled), clear of the real working conditions. Students can perform their main area practices in the 12th grade during their internship trainings at the enterprises.
The majority of the masters at the enterprises where our students undergo internship are not graduates of any formal training regarding lifts. According to the workplace surveys conducted by our teachers visiting the enterprises for supervision, it was determined that they entered the sector by change or through their personal efforts. The hands-on training, which constitute the backbone of training on lifts for our students, is carried out in a random system, so to say. This causes a considerable amount of our students to pull away from the occupation thinking it provides no life security. An education in EU standards for our students, who are the masters of tomorrow, will help create modern working conditions in line with the occupational safety techniques and overcome this structure of the industry. It will pave the way for students who receive education in the field of lifts to do internships on “Safe Installation Techniques” in the European standard and contribute to their employment both qualitatively and quantitatively. It will also contribute to the fact that lifts, which are used not only by industry workers but by 50 million people daily, on average, in our country, run faultlessly and ensure the safety of users. Moreover, it will ensure that the participants’ jargon level is strengthened, self-confidence is increased, knowledge of EU culture is gained, working discipline is increased and, most importantly, that our students are the qualified employees in this sector.
Our school is located at the center of a large, organized industrial zone, which includes Ostim in the Ankara Şaşmaz industrial site, İvedik, Ankara Chamber of Industry 1st, 2nd and 3rd Organized Industrial Zones, Başkent OIZ, and Anadolu OIZ, which is an advantageous region. Our teachers provide training on lifts not only for the students attaining formal education but also for students participating in various activities such as open vocational education, vocational courses for sentenced persons, the certification exams, UMEM and İŞKUR courses. Training on rescuing people from lifts is also given at the Ankara fire department. Therefore, educators have the chance to bring their craft knowledge, skills and experiences to a diversified range of people.
Our teachers, on the other hand, are required to work within the EU standards of the industry; they need to increase their level of knowledge, skills, experience and professional competence by observing these on-site from the other European colleagues.
The course books and curriculum regarding the Lift System by the Ministry of National Education are prepared with the contribution of our school personnel. The system of lift mastership and overseership exams in our country was designed by our school, and the exams are conducted at our school in Ankara. The national occupational standards for lift maintenance, repair and installment are also prepared through the contribution of our school personnel. A lift laboratory was built at our school with the support of Ankara Development Agency regarding the area of lift, and as part of this project, four teachers at our school received training for one week in September in Spain.
Improvement and learning the innovations have become compulsory with a corporate innovation policy regarding the Lift Installment Technician at our school. Our school is open to all kinds of support from the industry.
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