Apprenticeship as Chemical Laboratory Assistant

What? Chemical laboratory assistants work on the development of new substances. Using modern analytical equipment they also detect the smallest quantities of chemicals. Who? The minimum requirement is the Fachoberschulreife (technical secondary school certificate) or Realschule certificate. Important are knowledge in natural sciences and mathematics as well as careful and precise work. Where? Apprentices learn in the chemical training laboratory and in various institutes of Forschungszentrum Jülich. They attend vocational school at Berufskolleg Simmerath/Stolberg in the Städteregion Aachen. How long? The apprenticeship lasts three years. Trendy clothes and life-saving medicines, new materials for computer technology and engine construction – chemistry is everywhere. Chemical laboratory assistants know their way around. They are there when new, useful compounds are developed in the labs. They help find the best way to implement chemists' ideas. They also find out what is contained in food, wastewater or soil samples. Analytical work in environmental protection and food monitoring are important fields. For their work chemical laboratory assistants use a wide range of modern laboratory equipment and apparatus. 'Colleague Computer' is also in every lab today when it comes to planning experiments, recording and evaluating data. Anyone who has a good connection to natural sciences, can work prudently and precisely and wants to participate when the products of tomorrow are created in the labs, is right with this apprenticeship. The prerequisite is the Fachoberschulreife, i.e. lower secondary school certificate (Hauptschulabschluss Sekundarstufe I) or Realschule certificate. Good knowledge in natural sciences and mathematics is required. Some manual dexterity is also useful. When handling chemicals and sensitive apparatus, particular care and precision are required. The apprenticeship is shortened to three years due to the Fachoberschulreife. Vocational school takes place once or twice a week at Berufskolleg Simmerath/Stolberg in the Städteregion Aachen. In the first one and a half apprenticeship years the future chemical laboratory assistants learn the basics of chemical analytics in the chemical training laboratory of the research center and carry out analyses themselves. They learn how compounds are synthesized and practice physical-chemical work. In the following one and a half years the apprentices are trained in the various laboratories of the research center. The specializations offered there include, for example, preparative chemistry, application of analytical, chromatographic and biotechnological methods, information technology in the laboratory and methods for environmental monitoring. A radiation protection course is also included. It takes place at the course center of Aachen University of Applied Sciences, Jülich Campus. What the apprentices have learned in this varied apprenticeship they can finally demonstrate in the final examinations before the Aachen Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The apprenticeship is not company-specific. Anyone trained at Forschungszentrum Jülich can work in laboratories of universities and other research institutes as well as in the chemical industry or in environmental protection facilities. Further training to become a state-certified technician is possible.

The prerequisite is the Fachoberschulreife (technical secondary school certificate), i.e. lower secondary school certificate (Hauptschulabschluss Sekundarstufe I) or Realschule certificate. Good knowledge in natural sciences and mathematics is required. Some manual dexterity is also useful. When handling chemicals and sensitive apparatus, particular care and precision are required.