On 21 April 2026, the brand partners of United by Tools all headed for Bühl in south-west Germany to hold the first ever event of this kind, designed to encourage young people to pursue a trades career. The two-day event focused on promoting a dialogue between apprentices, instructors and brands.
United by Tools was founded in 2024 as part of a joint charity project, and since then it has been a fixed feature of the collaboration between the brands BESSEY, Halder, Picard, Pica Marker, PARAT and STABILA. Since they all believe strongly in encouraging young talent in the trade industry, at a joint workshop last year the idea for this event was born. The construction skills training centre Komzet Bau Bühl quickly came on board as a partner and venue for the event.
As the shortage of qualified tradespeople continues, trades offer excellent career prospects to young people. The event took this as its starting point, bringing trainees and brand partners into direct contact, providing practical product training and creating a framework to combine information, experience and community.
“Encouraging young talent isn’t just our responsibility, it’s an investment in the future of the trades industry. By investing in young people today, we’re assuring quality, innovation and passion in our trades for the future,” says graduate engineer Frank Hassler, deputy director and manager of Komzet Bau Bühl.
On day one, around 250 trainees from Komzet Bau Bühl and Bühl’s vocational school were welcomed to the venue. First there was an opportunity to get to know the various brands, for which each partner had set up an attractive stand including some intriguing challenges for the participants.
As well as the brand stations, the first day of the event also included other elements with a focus on experience: a photo booth to make memories and the chance to get creative by designing your own T-shirt with the help of spray cans. When it was time to eat, participants could use their ‘route card’ to get a voucher that they could exchange for a burger at the food truck.
However, the highlight of the day was the prize draw to win one of six fully packed apprentices’ bags worth around €250 each. To be entered in the draw, the trainees simply had to collect a stamp from each brand partner on their card over the course of the day. The PARAT tool bags contained products from all the participating brands, including a STABILA spirit level and tape measure, Picard and Halder hammers, marking tools from Pica Marker and BESSEY clamps.
Day two was all about learning and the sharing of knowledge. Each of the six brands divided themselves into two groups by trade, and for two hours answered the apprentices’ questions and provided a training session introducing them to their product ranges. The aim was to give the apprentices knowledge they could put to immediate practical use, and to engage in a closer dialogue with them. The second day also featured a wide range of challenges from the various brands. From team spirit to precision and endurance, the apprentices had to put all their skills to the test. At PARAT, the task was to fill a toolbox as closely as possible to a defined target weight, while at STABILA the challenge was to balance a fully opened wooden rule on a traffic cone. Halder had a classic test of strength, based on the beer mug holding challenge but with a twist: this version involved a hammer on a chain. Meanwhile Picard chose to focus on precision, with the apprentices having to hammer in a nail in just three strokes.
How valuable was this new training format? Florian Braun, who is in charge of wood construction training at Komzet Bau Bühl, summed it up: “It combines real, practical skills with the best tools – to train the professionals of tomorrow.”
For United by Tools, Nicholas Baldermann from STABILA adds: “The success of this event underlines the importance of actively encouraging young talent in trades. For the partners in the United by Tools network, the focus is on having both direct dialogue with apprentices as well as highlighting the many opportunities available in trades – especially on the platforms where young people can be reached today.”
Through the United by Tools event, the participating partners sent out a strong signal for the future of trades careers. The event demonstrates that in a setting that combines practical experience, personal interactions and real enthusiasm, encouraging young talent has a particularly lasting effect.
At the end of two days, it was clear that this format demands to be repeated!
Supporting young people entering trades has been important to STABILA for years, which is why the my1Stabila campaign was launched six years ago. As part of this campaign, we visit a number of training centres and Chambers of Crafts and Trades every year, to come into direct contact with trainees.
In 2026 we toured six different training venues and chambers over ten days, giving us the opportunity to interact directly with both instructors and apprentices. In each case the focus was on learning and sharing knowledge, as we introduced the apprentices to the world of measuring tools and their importance.
There was plenty of fun too: the day wouldn’t have been complete without the popular R-Type Challenge. This gave the apprentices (and their instructors) the chance to measure up against each other and find out who could hold on the longest.
Each visit was documented on social media to help tell the story of how we encourage young people in trades. We’re already looking forward to expanding the my1Stabila campaign and advancing our goal of inspiring young people to take up a trades career.
