At 18, Maxime Walch, in the first year of BTS vehicle maintenance at the CFAA (Center for training apprentices in crafts) in Mulhouse, would see his portrait hanging on the ” wall of champions »Of the establishment, alongside the apprentices of the CFAA who, before him, won gold or silver medals in the national finals of the Worldskills (Skills Olympics).
After winning the regional gold medal in the “automotive technology” category, he will represent the Grand Est region in this same category at the 46e National Worldskills final to be held in Lyon. But before that, the road promises to be long. Even longer since the Covid-19 seized the previously well-established Worldskills machine. Initially scheduled for October 8 to 10, the Olympics were postponed, due to the health context, from December 15 to 17, before being postponed again. The organizers now hope that they will be held “before the summer of 2021”. Maxime Walch takes these vagaries of the calendar with philosophy: “It leaves more time to prepare and train,” he smiles.
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Days of training and sacrifice
Nevertheless, he and the 13 other apprentices, who will represent their region in the national final, “got to the heart of the matter” on October 16 and 17 in Mulhouse, at the CFAA, with a presentation of the nine timed events that ” they will have to accomplish in Lyon, practical work in the workshop, etc.
But, like his competitors, Maxime Walch, who lives in Ruederbach, did not wait for this internship to prepare. This competition is “Saturdays and Saturdays of sacrifice and training for several months, in addition to CFAA courses and company training.” For him, the Worldskills are an opportunity “to put into practice everything that we learn and that we do not always have the opportunity to put into practice, because, there, it is really about things sometimes. very sharp ”.
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On the strengths side, Maxime Walch “manages” in metrology (measurements of engine elements) and is also “comfortable” to troubleshoot a gearbox. Side weak points, he admits “to struggle a little more in all that is electrical failure”. He has “less experience in there, but it comes,” he says. And he still has several weeks to progress in this field… Even before knowing when he will finally set foot in Lyon, Maxime Walch is already certain: “The Worldskills are really a great experience. I am sure that it will serve me for the rest of my professional training. “
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