The need for qualified personnel to oversee lifts, escalators and moving walkways is rising across Germany’s building sector. On 12 July, TÜV AUSTRIA announced a new series of training courses designed to meet that demand by equipping technical staff and facility managers with practical, hands-on skills.
Unlike generic programs, these courses are manufacturer-independent and conducted directly at the customer’s premises. This allows participants to run through inspections and emergency procedures on the exact equipment they will later supervise. The curriculum covers core duties such as routine visual checks, functional testing, and – crucially – the safe rescue of trapped passengers.
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After passing a final exam, trainees receive an elevator-attendant certificate. That document serves as formal proof of technical competence, recognised by both supervisory authorities and insurance providers. TÜV experts recommend that certificate holders refresh their knowledge annually, ideally in tandem with the mandatory system inspections.
Structured inspections and acceptance rules
Beyond personnel qualifications, the operator’s liability hinges on systematic building controls. Checklists published by TÜV AUSTRIA in mid-July lay out step-by-step procedures for those checks. They apply not only to conventional lifts but also to escalators and moving walkways.
A key requirement: after any repair or modification, a formal acceptance inspection is compulsory before the equipment can be returned to service. This rule is designed to close gaps in safety monitoring that might otherwise arise during maintenance cycles.
Industry-wide push for specialist skills
The training initiative comes as demand for specialised technicians climbs. The Rheinische Akademie Köln, for example, is running online seminars in mid-July aimed at state-certified engineers. Meanwhile, industrial drive manufacturer SEW-EURODRIVE has broken ground on a new technology centre in St. Florian. Construction started in early July, and from summer 2028 the site is expected to house its own in-house academy for maintenance, assembly and operational-safety training.
These parallel developments underscore a broader trend: machinery and building-services engineering increasingly rely on experts who can keep complex systems running safely – a task that now begins with the men and women holding the attendant’s certificate.
