Training as a building materials tester, subject area asphalt technology
- Required school-leaving certificate at least upper secondary technical school-leaving certificate
- Duration: 3.5 years
- Practical training, Faculty of Civil Engineering 2, Bayernallee 9, 52066 Aachen, Germany
- School-based training, Beckum Vocational College of the Warendorf district (Hansaring 11, 59269 Beckum), boarding school accommodation, block teaching
- Start annually in August/September
The job description: short and sweet
Measuring, testing, documenting - this is the everyday work of building materials testers. Whether in the laboratory or on building sites - building material testers are responsible for ensuring that the quality on the building site is right.
In their daily work, they receive orders from the Head of Laboratory or directly from the customer. An individual project plan is drawn up for each order, which specifies the individual work steps in detail. They use physical or chemical methods to determine different properties and characteristic values of the various building material samples, such as grain size distribution of grain mixtures, density, hardness, porosity, strength, moisture content, pH value, etc.
Building material testers with the subject area asphalt technology often work in the field of road construction. Depending on the traffic load and the location of a road, different types and grades of asphalt are laid in several layers, which are individually composed. Construction material testers test and assess the asphalt, which is used for quality assurance and to determine the causes of damage.
Handling various testing devices, for which they are responsible for maintenance, is an essential part of this.
Content of the training
Construction materials tester is a recognised training occupation under the Vocational Training Act (BBiG). In principle, the training is offered in the main areas of asphalt technology, mortar and concrete technology and/or geotechnics. At the FH Aachen, training takes place in the field of asphalt technology, at Faculty 2 - Civil Engineering.
In the subject area "asphalt technology", you take and test samples from the road, i.e. substances containing tar and pitch as well as bituminous binders and mixtures - i.e. mixtures of substances obtained from crude oil - from mixing plants. For example, you can assess their resistance to weathering, i.e. frost or rain.
With the help of various methods, building material testers can determine whether the asphalt and its components meet the specified requirements and whether the asphalt has been laid correctly.
The practical examination takes place at the end of the training in the form of a practical final task.
School education
The school-based training takes place in block lessons of six to eight weeks per half-year at the Beckum Vocational College of the Warendorf district, Hansaring 11, 59269 Beckum. During the block instruction, the trainees live in the Caritashaus, Paterweg 50, 59269 Beckum or in comparable accommodation.
The responsible chamber is the IHK Aachen.
Personal requirements
- School-leaving qualification: at least upper secondary school-leaving certificate
- Systematic and independent way of working
- Technical and mathematical understanding
- Interest in computer-aided processes and evaluations
- Interest in chemistry and physics
- Enjoyment of working with machines and equipment
- Aptitude for precision work
- Willingness to travel due to boarding school accommodation
- Team player
- High willingness to learn
Development opportunities after the training
- Further training as a technician:in the subject area of materials engineering or the subject area of civil engineering
- Civil engineering studies (with corresponding prior qualification)
