VEHICLE FITTER/CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCE

About the job

Vehicle fitters manufacture bodies and trailers for passenger, commercial and special vehicles. They modify them according to their intended use, fit accessories and carry out repair and maintenance work.

ACTIVITIES

• Vehicle fitters build, assemble and repair chassis and bodies for coaches, fire engines, refrigerated vehicles and similar. They modify the vehicles according to their intended use and equip them with crane and tipping systems, lifting devices, luggage racks, etc. They take into account technical regulations and the individual wishes and needs of customers.
• The most important working material for vehicle fitters is metal. Using various processing methods, they shape sheets, pipes and profiles as required: they bend, stretch and compress them. They cut, saw and drill workpieces and weld, solder or rivet them together. They have hand tools as well as modern machines at their disposal. Plastics are increasingly used. The professionals know the special properties of the materials.
• Vehicle fitters read circuit diagrams and technical drawings. For the manufacture of bodies, they use the plans as working templates. They start with the frame, which gives the vehicle shape and stability. They then mount the prepared parts on this. They fit bodies or loading areas with wooden or metal panelling, make adjustments to the chassis and the wings, and equip the vehicle with accessories such as toolboxes, holders or lamps. Sometimes they also assemble entire hydraulic systems or install air conditioning.
• The professionals’ tasks also include maintenance and repair work. They ensure effective corrosion protection, carry out function tests, check the hydraulics of cranes or the steering and braking systems of trailers. They replace damaged or worn parts. Vehicle fitters work alone or in a team.

TRAINING

• Duration: 4 years
• Practical training: vehicle construction company or bodywork workshop
• School education: 1 day per week at the vocational school
• Inter-company courses: practical learning and practising of professional basics
• Qualification: Federal Certificate of Competence "Vehicle Fitter/CFC"
• Vocational baccalaureate: possible with very good school performance
• Job-related subjects: technical basics (arithmetic/physics, electrical engineering, materials science, manufacturing processes), business basics (business studies, workplace, regulations), vehicle technology (electricity/electrical engineering, pneumatics, hydraulics, engines, vehicle dynamics), production and maintenance (drawing, chassis, vehicle body)

REQUIREMENTS

• Previous education: completed compulsory schooling, good performance in mathematics, geometry and technical drawing
• Requirements: pronounced manual skills, spatial imagination, sense of responsibility, precise and careful working method, enthusiasm for vehicles, ability to work in a team

FURTHER EDUCATION

• Courses: offered by vocational schools and the VSCI bodywork association
• Industry certificate: workshop coordinator in the bodywork trade, bodywork specialist in vehicle construction
• Professional examination (PE): bodywork workshop manager with federal diploma, welding specialist with federal diploma
• Advanced professional examination (APE): bodywork master, specialising as a fitter
• Advanced technical college: e.g. certified technician HF metal construction
• University of applied sciences: e.g. Bachelor of Science (FH) in automotive engineering
• Specialisation: damage expert, additional training at an insurance company

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