The German Football Association’s campus in Frankfurt became the venue for this year’s national building-cleaning championship, where 12 young professionals put their skills to the test among football shirts and trophies. The competitors tackled three tasks: disinfecting a changing room, cleaning display cases with the help of a robot, and washing exterior blinds with purified water.
The competition is part of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts’ national championships and has been organised for more than 50 years by the Federal Guild Association of the Building Cleaning Trade. Participants must be no older than 27 and have completed their apprenticeship with a grade of at least “good.” Many have also won preliminary competitions in their federal states.
The event’s tasks tested more than the final appearance of the cleaned surfaces. Jurors assessed how competitors protected materials, secured their work areas and avoided trip hazards. Dirk Wollenberg, a juror and trainer, said self-protection was the top priority, including the use of personal protective equipment.
One task involved cleaning the campus’s exterior blinds with a water-purification device. The method uses no chemicals: the water is filtered to a purity level of more than 99 percent, Wollenberg explained.
Competitors cited the variety of the work as one of its attractions. Marco Rühl, a 23-year-old competitor from Hesse who completed his training in December, said the job brings new tasks and places to work. Laura Reinholdtz, competing from Saxony, said she particularly values seeing the difference between a space before and after cleaning.
Steffi Reuter, managing director of the guild association’s vocational education body, said many people do not realise that building cleaning is a skilled trade. The championship aims to make the profession more visible, she said. The trade employs more than one million people in Germany, according to Reuter.
The DFB campus was chosen as a prominent setting to showcase the work. Previous championship venues have included Berlin’s Red City Hall and the Heide Park amusement park in Lower Saxony. DFB sporting director Rudi Völler also visited the competitors, posed for a photo with them and the jury, and wished them luck.
Sources: FAZ.