Road builder Yannick Müller finds team spirit and prospects cool

Yannick Müller, 25, has already worked on around 15 construction sites since joining Implenia as an apprentice road builder. Since June 2019, he has been based at Liestal, Switzerland, working on the expansion of the SBB railway to four tracks. He especially loves the sense of community within the team and that he is always learning something new.

Yannick is interviewed for “Schweizer Familie”. The journalist wants to know how it feels to stand in the baking sun, being thoroughly shaken up by a jackhammer, while suit-clad men in expensive cars beep aggressively. “That doesn’t happen all that often,” Yannick stresses. “Most of it is positive. For example, a mother with two young children baked a chocolate cake and delivered it to our little team, and local residents often thank us for the great work we’ve done.”

Four track expansion project in Liestal, Switzerland

Project: Expansion of 2.5 km of SBB rail line from two to four tracks. Station upgrade, new platforms, adjustments to infrastructure
Construction period: 2019 to 2025
Order volume: CH 115 million

MORE ON THE PROJECT: Access the website here

It takes a lot to rile Yannick, although he does not enjoy cold, rainy days much. “Still, I’m not on my own, after all. There are five of us,” he explains. That is a great help when the work is not so much fun, for example in extremely hot weather. “When it’s hot, you just have to keep drinking. The foremen always check that we don’t forget, and at three o’clock one of us gets ice cream for our break. When you really can’t go on, you just take a quick break. But as a team, the work is not hard: the others aren’t exactly reclining in a deck chair either.”

Road builder at Implenia: Yannick finds

TOP	FLOP
Team spirit	Cold, rainy weather
Prospects	Moaning from passers-by
Working outdoors	Working in confined spaces

In the first year of his apprenticeship, he was absolutely exhausted at the end of the day. Now, he comes home, takes a shower, and then heads out to the gym or to play football with colleagues. Most of his friends are at university; one works in an office. Not an option for Yannick: “I’d much rather work on a construction site and am always talking about my work. When my colleagues hear how complicated all the calculations are, it helps to disprove the ‘stupid builder’ cliché.”

More on the major construction at Liestal: Stress is the big enemy

Yannick sees every day how much expertise goes into successful construction. “Experience is key on a construction site. Older colleagues know so much.” Foremen, overseers, master workmen: Yannick respects their experience and performance – and wants to develop further on the construction site himself, too. He has a tip for young people looking for a profession: “If you like being outdoors, like working in a team, like to have prospects: a road builder apprenticeship is ideal.”

Interested in a job or apprenticeship at Implenia? Find out more here