Uphold the spirit of craftsmanship and pursue superb artistry.
Release Date:
2016-11-18 20:07
——Reflections from Jiang Ge of the Zhejiang Company’s Skills Workshop on His Study Trip to Germany to Master Welding Techniques
Time has flown by; in the blink of an eye, the 21-day training program for highly skilled blue-collar welders in Germany has come to a successful close, and I have now returned to my post. Looking back on these 21 days—intense yet fulfilling and busy—I am left with profound impressions and abundant takeaways. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the company’s leadership for affording me this invaluable learning opportunity. Through this training, I have acquired new knowledge, adopted innovative methods and processes, broadened my international perspective, gained insight into the cutting edge of global welding technology, refined my professional skill set, and enhanced my overall competence—reaping substantial benefits and achieving remarkable results.
I. Introduction
The participants selected for this training program in Germany were vetted and approved by the Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security. The Foreign Experts Bureau organized the initiative, while Beijing Hansheng Service Agency provided full‑time interpretation services throughout the stay in Germany. Prior to departure, leaders from both the Provincial Department and the Foreign Experts Bureau convened a pre‑departure briefing, outlining the preparations for the training course and offering guidance on key considerations upon arrival in Germany. Due to budgetary constraints, several other training projects were canceled; however, the overseas training program for highly skilled “golden‑blue‑collar” welders remains one of the government‑sponsored initiatives. The provincial authorities attach great importance to cultivating such high‑caliber talent, aiming to enhance the quality and efficiency of the province’s manufacturing sector through exposure to cutting‑edge foreign technologies, thereby advancing Zhejiang’s transformation from a major manufacturing province to a manufacturing powerhouse and from “Made in Zhejiang” to “Smart Manufacturing in Zhejiang.”
This training program brought together a total of 24 participants, including a team leader who also serves as the principal of Zhejiang Provincial School for Labor and Social Security Cadres. The principal is responsible for overseeing all matters pertaining to the entire group. To facilitate management, the group was divided into four sub‑teams, and student representatives were appointed as study coordinator, life affairs officer, and discipline officer, each assuming specific duties. On October 15, with hearts brimming with excitement, our 24‑member delegation boarded an international flight from Shanghai Pudong International Airport bound for Germany. Onward to Berlin—here we come!
(The lovely teacher from the Foreign Experts Bureau, who was in charge of the preliminary arrangements for this trip, saw us off to Pudong Airport and posed for a group photo.)
After a 12-hour flight, our plane landed safely at Frankfurt Airport. Since Hans Tong’s interpreter wouldn’t meet us until we reached Berlin, we “non‑speakers” had to manage the layover in Frankfurt on our own. “Don’t get separated—language barriers are no excuse,” the tour leader warned. Following the signs, we made our way to security and immigration, only to be bombarded with questions by the foreign staff, leaving us thoroughly flustered. In that critical moment, a fellow Chinese traveler stepped in: a young woman from Sichuan, also going through check‑in, quickly came to our rescue and helped us clear security and immigration without a hitch. Later, our interpreter told us that you’ll encounter many Chinese travelers at Frankfurt Airport, and there are even Chinese staff members in the terminal providing guidance and translation. These experiences left a deep impression: first, China is becoming increasingly globalized—Chinese people are everywhere, a testament to our nation’s growing strength; second, as blue‑collar workers who’ve come up through the ranks, we still lack sufficient formal education. To truly keep pace with the international community, I believe mastering another language is essential. I hope that in the future, our blue‑collar workforce will include university graduates with higher education—then, I’m confident, our manufacturing sector will flourish even further and take a leading position on the world stage.
II. Experiencing the Charm of Foreign Cultures
1. Experience Berlin’s public transportation
We traveled from the hotel to the training center using public transportation. Our translator handed each of us a weekly bus pass worth 30 euros, which allowed us to ride any form of public transit. Berlin’s subway system isn’t as complicated as those back home: there’s no security check and no separate ticket validation—just step right onto the train at the station. However, you must have a valid ticket; plainclothes ticket inspectors conduct random checks on the trains. According to our translator, there are about four or five such spot‑checks every year, and during our time in Germany we encountered them four times. If you’re caught traveling without a ticket, the penalties can be severe. On one occasion, two young foreign passengers—typically the kind of foreigners who get flagged, like immigrants—were found fare‑evading. Our translator told us they’d face a fine of at least 60 euros, and their behavior would even be recorded in their personal credit history. Germans place great importance on creditworthiness. Once, when a bus driver picked us up in Halle after a trip from Berlin, heavy traffic delayed his arrival by four hours. Just as we were about to board and head out, the driver explained that, according to regulations, he had to take a proper rest break before driving—and so the entire bus had to wait. On our way to school, we made it a point to remind each other whether we’d brought our tickets; getting caught would certainly be troublesome. I suppose the Germans’ unwavering commitment to enforcing rules was itself one of the key lessons of our trip—truly “strict systems, rigorously enforced.”
(The Berlin U-Bahn and the Halle tram)
On the first morning, at seven o’clock—before it was fully light—we set off for school. The entire subway car was filled with our group; the Germans hadn’t even started work yet. Seeing how eager we were, each of us looking so cheerful, I couldn’t help but recall my own childhood school days. I figured this time, too, I was back to playing the role of a little student—determined to study hard and bring home Germany’s advanced technologies and cutting‑edge ideas.
2. Experience German Cuisine
We’ve adjusted quite well to the German breakfast: milk with bread, fried eggs, fruit, beverages, coffee—everything is very varied, and the milk, in particular, is wonderfully rich and pure. Anticipating that we might not be used to the local cuisine, during our stay in Berlin, both lunch and dinner were arranged at Chinese restaurants—places like “Xiangdao” and “Shanghai Restaurant”—which made us feel right at home, so comforting!
During my week of study in Halle, the city’s relatively small size—combined with just one Chinese restaurant and the training center being quite far away—meant that we ate Chinese food at the institute. The organizers were very thoughtful: on the first day, we had a curry rice with fried egg and chicken cutlet, which was passable. But by the following days, the Western meals proved hard to stomach, so everyone pulled out their go-to travel staples—instant noodles and preserved mustard greens. It’s clear that there are still significant differences between Eastern and Western culinary traditions.
(Everyone really enjoyed the first meal.)
3. Experience the Scenery of Berlin
On Sunday, during our day off, our translator took us on a tour of Berlin’s urban scenery. The German capital is renowned as one of Europe’s greenest and most environmentally friendly cities. The entire city boasts exceptional greenery, as if nestled within a vast sea of foliage, punctuated by the vibrant hues of autumn leaves, while the Spree River gently winds through the city center from the south. Berlin not only offers exquisite, picturesque parks but also historic architectural landmarks. For instance, Berlin Cathedral is a Lutheran church that once served as the imperial chapel of the Hohenzollern dynasty; the Reichstag Building stands as a symbol of German unity; and the Brandenburg Gate, the city’s sole surviving gate and its most iconic landmark, embodies Germany’s sacred unification. Berliners hold the Brandenburg Gate in special regard, affectionately calling it the “Gate of Fate,” and it has become a quintessential emblem of both the city and the nation. There are many other attractions as well, including the Victory Column, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Checkpoint Charlie, Unter den Linden, Marx‑Engels Platz, and more—Berlin is an ancient yet breathtakingly beautiful city.
(Photograph taken in front of Berlin Cathedral and the Reichstag Building)
4. Experience the warmth of the German people
At the training institute in Halle, our German instructors hosted a special beer-and-barbecue dinner, allowing us to fully experience German hospitality and beer culture. The event fostered cultural exchange between China and Germany, strengthened Sino‑German friendship, and deepened the bonds between teachers and students. Everyone had a wonderful time.
(A German chef is preparing roast suckling pig for us.)
(Amidst the gathering, Sino-German cultural exchange was in full swing, and everyone was thoroughly delighted!)
III. Experience Germany’s Advanced Technology
1. Advanced teaching philosophy and state-of-the-art teaching equipment
At both the DVS German Welding Society’s GSI Berlin-Brandenburg chapter and the SLV Halle welding training institute, one can clearly sense Germany’s advanced approach to welding. For instance, in personnel training, beginners are taught using computer‑based 3D welding simulation and simulated welding‑training equipment, enabling practice with a wide range of welding processes. This instructional method conserves materials and resources, minimizes safety risks during training, and replicates the conditions of real‑world welding. By leveraging 3D technology, it delivers an immersive, lifelike welding experience and automatically generates customized training plans tailored to the specific skills being developed. Depending on the selected welding process and position, the system verifies whether the operator’s settings and procedures are correct; any parameters or techniques that deviate from established standards trigger immediate audio alerts, allowing operators to make timely corrections. For trainees, this represents the quickest and most effective way to hone their skills.
(3D simulated welding practice)
This equipment represents the ideal entry point for beginners, helping to prevent common issues such as eye irritation and burns that can arise from improper technique at the outset. It makes learning to weld as engaging as playing a game: when your arc becomes too long, the system promptly alerts you with a “too long” warning, blending education with entertainment. Even during the training, several of us young college graduates couldn’t resist “playing” with the welding process. At the end of the session, the system scores your welding performance based on your actions. This approach demonstrates Germany’s thorough commitment to professional training. I believe that adopting this same setup in China would encourage more people to take up welding, enabling faster and more effective cultivation of highly skilled welding professionals. In light of Zhejiang Province’s goal to become a manufacturing powerhouse, fostering such talent is of great significance.
2. Advanced welding technology
The first learning module of this training was friction stir welding. At the Berlin-Brandenburg branch of the German Welding Institute, we completed a two-day theoretical course that provided us with an understanding of the principles of friction stir welding and its range of applications, while also enabling us to gain a preliminary grasp of the technology.
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a patented welding process invented in 1991 by The Welding Institute in the United Kingdom. In FSW, a high‑temperature‑resistant, hard‑material stir tool is rotated and plunged into the joint of the workpieces to be welded. The heat generated by rotation causes the metal at the joint to soften plastically, while the material surrounding the tool undergoes friction, stirring, and extrusion. As the tool moves along the weld seam, plasticized metal flows, and upon cooling, a solid‑state weld is formed under compressive conditions. The process requires no additional consumables such as electrodes, filler wire, flux, or shielding gases. Friction Stir Welding is widely used for joining aluminum alloys, copper, titanium, carbon steel, and other materials. It offers numerous advantages, including automation and robotic compatibility, and finds extensive applications in shipbuilding, aerospace, rail transportation, the automotive industry, and more.
Through theoretical study and the instructor’s meticulous guidance, I carefully followed each step of the procedure and successfully completed the welding of an aluminum test plate, with the weld quality receiving high praise from my professor. As the saying goes, “Knowledge gained from books is ultimately superficial; true understanding comes only through hands-on practice.” Prior to this, I had only encountered friction stir welding in relevant textbooks and had never actually worked with it. This training has given me a genuine grasp of the technique, and by personally performing the welds, I have reinforced that understanding. Our province is striving to become a manufacturing powerhouse, and new technologies like friction stir welding will continue to emerge and find practical applications. In line with our province’s development needs, this learning experience has laid a solid foundation for future implementation. At present, we are already at the forefront of technological advancement, and I feel truly honored.
(Friction Stir Welding Operation)
During our studies in Germany, through hands-on practice, we deepened our understanding of conventional welding techniques such as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding and carbon dioxide shielded metal arc welding, while also gaining exposure to the most advanced welding equipment and methods currently available—such as laser welding, electron beam welding, plasma arc welding, plasma arc spray welding, flame‑powder spray welding, and laser‑based precision CNC cutting. We acquired a thorough grasp of the principles underlying these welding and cutting processes, as well as their respective application areas. We conducted trial welds on titanium alloy materials and observed 3D printing–based welding technologies.
(Observing and learning various advanced welding techniques)
Through this practical experience, we have gained insight into the world’s most advanced welding technologies and broadened our horizons. The new wave of industrial revolution is driving profound restructuring in manufacturing; Germany has launched “Industry 4.0,” while China, under the “new normal,” has timely introduced “Made in China 2025.” “Made in Zhejiang” is now taking concrete steps, with the overarching goal of becoming a leading, internationally influential manufacturing powerhouse by 2020—particularly in the high-end equipment manufacturing sector. As welding professionals, we must promptly stay abreast of and gradually master cutting-edge global welding technologies and equipment, and actively promote their adoption. At the same time, we recognize the limitations of our current knowledge and will strive to deepen our expertise in our work going forward. We will keep pace with emerging trends and evolving requirements in global welding technology, continuously enriching and refining ourselves to achieve well-rounded personal development and enhanced overall competence.
3. Advanced welding inspection technologies ensure product quality and safety.
At the SLV Halle branch training center, we also studied the principles and applications of both destructive testing—such as tensile, bending, and impact tests—and nondestructive testing—including X-ray inspection, ultrasonic testing, dye‑penetrant testing, and magnetic particle testing. While conventional testing methods are widely available in China, X‑ray digital imaging technology is particularly advanced: after exposing a specimen to X‑rays, the image is captured directly by a computer, making the process simple, fast, and highly efficient, with clear imagery that facilitates intuitive defect evaluation and analysis.
(X-ray digital imaging technology)
On the final day of the course, each student had their welded test specimens subjected to X-ray inspection. The professor then analyzed and commented on the welds we had produced, with the results displayed clearly on a computer screen, making it easy to identify any defects present. Thanks to this advanced inspection technology, quality issues in products can be detected promptly, efficiently, and accurately, preventing the release of nonconforming items and ensuring the safety of welding projects.
4. A rigorous product quality assurance system
Germany’s product quality standards operate as a distinct system, with uniform and stringent requirements governing every stage of the manufacturing process—even down to a single nut. For foreign products to enter the European Union, they must first obtain EU‑compliant quality‑management certification and gain approval from an accredited body before gaining access to the EU market. The manufacturing process is exceptionally rigorous; during our welding‑qualification testing in Halle, we witnessed firsthand the meticulous professionalism of the German instructors. From pre‑weld preparation and welding‑procedure specifications to detailed record‑keeping during the weld, and post‑weld quality inspections, every step was documented on more than a dozen forms, each filled out with painstaking attention to detail. This fully exemplifies the German ethos: emphasizing structured processes, prioritizing thorough execution, maintaining comprehensive records, and ensuring unwavering quality.
During this time, we also toured the production lines at BMW’s Leipzig plant, gaining a deep appreciation for the application of cutting-edge technology. Digital intelligent robotic welding and painting lines, among others, exemplify Germany’s “Industry 4.0”–driven industrial transformation.
IV. Summary
This training was highly rewarding, sparking great enthusiasm and leading to academic performance that earned recognition from our German instructors, who also presented us with certificates of completion. We gained a profound appreciation for the advanced nature of German welding technology—spanning everything from personnel training and cutting-edge welding processes to comprehensive quality‑control systems—and for the pervasive application of standardization, automation, and digitalization across the manufacturing sector.
(At the conclusion of the training, center leaders presented certificates of completion and posed for a group photo.)
This time, we have clearly recognized the gap between China and established, advanced industrial powers like Germany: widespread educational shortcomings, low technological content in the industrial sector, relatively low overall labor productivity, and a severe shortage of highly skilled professionals. As the province’s “golden and blue-collar” workforce, we must keep our mission firmly in mind, uphold unwavering conviction, and strive to adapt to the new circumstances and requirements of welding‑technology development. Grounded in our respective roles, we should pursue excellence in our craft, strengthen our enterprises’ innovation capacity, and cultivate a strong ethos of diligence, competence, and lifelong learning—continuously enriching and refining ourselves to elevate both our technical expertise and overall capabilities. In alignment with our province’s strategic goals of building a manufacturing powerhouse through quality improvement, efficiency gains, and transformation and upgrading, we must forge ahead with determination, press forward with resolve, face challenges without yielding or retreating, share the same destiny as our enterprises, and grow together with Zhejiang. Let us inspire more capable and responsible, outstanding welding‑technicians to contribute tirelessly to driving enterprise transformation and upgrading, and to revitalizing our province’s economy through scientific development!
Related News
Copyright © Yuegong Holding Group Co., Ltd.Website Development: China Enterprise Dynamics Shaoxing