Craft
Chimney sweeps advertise secure jobs in times of crisis
Chimney sweeps advertise secure jobs in times of crisis. Photo: Robert Michael / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
They come on almost every table on New Year’s Eve: Small figures with the silhouette of a chimney sweep are considered lucky charms. The real chimney sweeps have plenty to do.
The chimney sweeps look to the future with fewer young people worries than other trades. “We have stable training figures,” said the board member in the Federal Association of Chimney Sweepers, Alexis Gula, the German press agency.
The change in the profession towards energy consulting and cleaning of ventilation systems, which are added to the core task of fire protection, is generating interest. This also applies increasingly to young women. Added to this is the everyday experience of many parents and young people that chimney sweeps were able to continue working despite lockdowns. “That’s a certain security,” he said.
Chimney sweeps become energy advisors
According to preliminary figures from the Federal Association for the year 2021, almost 1900 young people are currently training to become chimney sweeps. That is 116 more than in 2020 and 158 more than in 2019. Currently, there are 270 young women. The association puts the number of newly concluded apprenticeship contracts for 2021 at 657 after 697 in 2020 and 712 in 2019. The recruitment process will continue. While the cleaning of ventilation systems plays a role in training, many chimney sweeps have an additional qualification as an energy consultant. Ventilation systems are increasingly being installed in new buildings. In addition, there is the topic of energy saving: “The chimney sweep will help shape the energy transition.”
“In general, we got through the pandemic quite well because we were allowed to continue working,” said Gula. Nationwide there are around 7,800 chimney sweep companies with around 20,000 employees. According to the association, redundancies or short-time work were largely unnecessary. Corona entails increased expenditure of time because appointments have to be postponed, for example due to quarantine. In many cases, the scope of work has also increased because wood-burning stoves are more often used as a source of heat when working from home.
Despite the corona masks and keeping your distance in the pandemic, the chimney sweep’s image as a lucky charm has not suffered. This idea goes back to preventing soot fires. “But touching is also difficult at the moment,” Gula asks for understanding. Therefore, looks are more in demand in the pandemic. And chimney sweeps with cylinders are also a beautiful sight.