A visit from the vocational school in Stoob/Austria

Stoob Ceramics College visits training partner RAKO

The Stoob Ceramics College in Burgenland is Austria’s leading centre for education and expertise in tiling, ceramics, and stove construction. Renowned for its high standards in both quality and the breadth of knowledge transfer, the campus brings together a four-year technical college, part-time training programmes, and an advanced course in stove construction technology – all under one roof.

In early April 2025, a group of enthusiastic trainees had the chance to visit the RAKO production facility in Borovany near České Budějovice. There, they gained valuable first-hand insights into the production and processing of tiles for both floors and walls.

At the Stoob Ceramics College, the close integration of theory and hands-on experience is a top priority. The institution has a long-standing tradition of supporting its apprentices in gaining practical skills that are directly applicable in their future workplaces across various companies. And this approach clearly pays off: after completing their multi-year training, graduates go on to build successful careers across many areas of industry, trade and crafts.

The Stoob Ceramics College maintains a long-standing partnership with the Austrian Lasselsberger Group, home to the well-known tile brand RAKO. A recent example of this successful collaboration is the outfitting of the new boarding school building on the college campus with high-quality ceramic tiles supplied by Lasselsberger.(Read more here)

A highlight of the short educational trip was a guided tour of the RAKO production facilities, where the company’s proud tradition of over 140 years of tile manufacturing “Made in the Czech Republic” was clearly felt. The tour offered an in-depth look at the entire production cycle – from the delivery and preparation of raw materials to the manufacturing process itself, followed by shipping and logistics.

The young professionals also took part in practical demonstrations of ceramic tile processing. One highlight was the opportunity to work with the increasingly popular large-format tiles themselves: The pupils experienced first-hand how demanding the precise cutting and correct processing of these materials can be. They were called upon to ‘roll up their sleeves’. Under expert guidance, they tried their hand at various processing techniques (types of bonding, buttering-floating process, tile cutting of large formats, etc.) at RAKO's own training centre in Horní Bříza.

We would like to thank all colleagues who were involved in organising the visit and look forward to further meetings together.