Hedensted event brings skilled trades to life for young people

Around 900 young people visited KSM Steel in Kragelund, near Hedensted, on Thursday for an event designed to encourage them to choose vocational education, DR reported. More than 20 trades were represented, including carpentry, hairdressing, metalwork and truck driving.

Jonathan Lerche Laursen, an eighth-grade student at Tørring School, is interested in becoming a metalworker and also planned to try a truck-driving simulator.

“It has always interested me. And I can also follow in my family’s footsteps,” he said.

Among the participants was Mia Stolbjerg, a horseshoer, who brought four lower legs from a horse so students could try driving nails into a real hoof and fitting a horseshoe.

“A couple of them have been brave enough to try it,” Stolbjerg said.

Hedensted Municipality ranks among the leading municipalities in Denmark for encouraging young people to choose vocational education. Mayor Ole Vind of the Liberal Party said the municipality had a responsibility to help train more people through vocational programmes.

The event was organised by the municipality in cooperation with local businesses. Per Møller, director of KSM Steel, said meeting workers and seeing the trades in practice made education and working life more tangible for young people.

“We have very good experience that this works,” he said.

Johannes Saugbjerg, chair of the board of the Confederation of Danish Industry’s Southeast Jutland branch, praised the event. He said the municipality was a model for how close cooperation between schools, businesses and local government could encourage more young people to choose vocational education.