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On March 16 the first European Skills Plus competitions will be organized for young people with labor disabilities in The Netherlands at Skills The Finals, RAI Amsterdam. In four competitions 13 teams from six countries will decide who will be the best European skills team 2017. These competitions shows that also people with a labor disability may and can be challenged and judged on their professional talents. The organization of this special European Championship is in the hands of WorldSkills Netherlands and the Pro Work Foundation, supported for that by Erasmus+ which is the EU’s programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe.

Inclusive competitions

Skills Plus competitions are designed for young people with a labor disability. The test projects were developed at the competition level of the successfully organized Skills Talents competition, the Dutch pre-vocational skills competitions. Participating teams consist of both people with physical as mental disability. Talents of different levels and types of restrictions form a team together and compete in their own professional discipline with other teams. Experts from vocational education and industry assess the individual team results and the competition performance. The so called test projects the team have to work upon during the competition reflect the current professional situation in their trade.

At the first European Skills Plus competitions 13 teams from Bulgaria, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Italy, Germany and The Netherlands compete with each other in four professional disciplines and at the end of the day it will be clear which team has become the best skilled plus team in Europe in Landscape Gardening, Hospitality, IT and Technology. “The team work improved in the national competitions. We also get to know each other better outside work. Now on to win the European Championship!”, said one of the participants of the Dutch team for Hospitality and Catering.

Skills The Finals

WorldSkills Netherlands at the same time organizes Skills The Finals. These are the Dutch National Skills Competitions, 16-18 March 2017. In 46 (pre)vocational finals in RAI Amsterdam 660 (pre)vocational students compete to become the best skilled young professional or the best skilled team.

Pro Work

The Pro Work Foundation promotes (inter)national career development of persons with a (significant) disabilities in the labor market as skilled workers and for other target groups. Included are sectors such as ICT, environment, economy, health care and technology. Topics such as sustainability, social employment, social inclusion, entrepreneurship, talent of youth unemployment and diversity management are paramount. For this the Pro Work foundation works together with similar organisations from the participating countries who were responsible for the preparation of their Skills Plus teams.

WorldSkills Netherlands

Besides Skills Plus competitions WorldSkills Netherlands organizes competitions such as Skills Juniors for 7th and 8th grade of primary school, Skills Talents for pre-vocational students, Skills Heroes for vocational students. All in cooperation with partners from education and business. WorldSkills Netherlands is also responsible for Team Netherlands to EuroSkills and WorldSkills; the European- and World competitions for young professionals.

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Note for editors

Information on the program and the European Skills Plus competitions can be found at www.skillsplus.eu

Information on Pro Work visit www.pro-work.nl

About WorldSkills Netherlands and Skills The Finals visit www.wordskillsnetherlands.nl and www.skillsthefinals.nl

Information on Erasmus + program, visit www.erasmusplus.nl

For more information about the European Skills Plus Competitions or interview requests please contact:

WorldSkills Netherlands: Twan Stemkens, Policy Advisor strategy and communication,
+31 651104566, stemkens@worldskillsnetherlands.nl, or Richard Pronk, communications coordinator, +31 652333682, pronk@worldskillsnetherlands.nl

Pro Work: Theo Grefkens, Director Pro Work +31 653497522, tgrefkens@pro-work.nl

Information about the participating national teams and organizations:

The Netherlands, INADVIES, Inez Kool, 0031(0)647462235, inezkool1970@gmail.com
The Netherlands, INADVIES,  Nicole Oolman, 0031(0)648143134, nicole.oolman@home.nl
Bulgaria, Adam Smith College of Management-BG,  Andrey Stoycheff, 00359 888 680408, andy@adamsmith.bg|
Czech Republic, Euroface Consulting,Katarína Francková, 00420 732288577, franckova@euro-face.cz
Slovenia, LUV, Mihaela Orozel, 00386(0)41258759,mihaela.orozel@luvelenje.si
Germany, SALO, Wouter Groet, 0049(0)160 97825843, woutergroet@salo-ag.de
Italy, ANFE, Elisabetta Briguglio, 0039 334 6766355, ebriguglio@anfe.it

On 5-9 December 2016, the first European Vocational Skills Week took place with events in Brussels and hundreds of activities in Member States, EFTA and EU candidate countries organized at national, regional and local levels.

WSE President Hubert Romer and Norbert Schöbel of the EC, DG for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion explain the importance of the work relation between the European Commission and WorldSkills Europe.

This first time, WorldSkills Europe was actively engaged in the programme on 8 and 9 December. During a panel discussion WorldSkills Champion Barthélémy Deutsch gave his inspiring view on the power of skills competitions and skills excellence. Besides that, during the Closing Ceremony, an overview of EuroSkills 2016 was presented to the particpants followed by the appreciation by EuroCommissioner Thyssen for Lisa Janisch.

We are looking back at some inspiring words from Prime minister Stefan Löfvens, during the openingsceremonie at EuroSkills 2016, Gotheborg:

Young talents, family members, teachers, representatives of business and trade unions, friends. Welcome to Sweden. Welcome to Gothenburg. It is an honour for any country to be allowed to organise large events. And an event of this kind, where young people from 27 European countries, alongside guest competitors from around the globe, have the opportunity to show off the fantastic skills that build all of our societies – in my view, that is the greatest event of all!

Once upon a time, long before any of the contestants here today were born, I worked in a timber sorting plant in Ångermanland in northern Sweden. And when the sorting equipment broke, we called in a welder. He had an almost magical ability to take something that was completely broken, and make it like new again. And I thought: “I want to do that!” So I trained, and went into my first workplace as a welder, and although I never became the best, I remember the pride I felt at doing something really well.

I want to congratulate all of you who are here competing. You have that pride. You have become the best in your professions. And that is why you are here. And through your efforts, you have also become representatives of your home towns, your countries, your generation. You also represent the future. Your hands create the furniture of the future, the design of the future, the communication of the future. Your drive will digitalise society, produce solutions to the climate threat, build the houses and lay the floors that our children and grandchildren walk on. Your dreams will become the reality of the future. So treasure them. Take pride in them. And never hesitate to make them a reality.

Your know-how and your professional skills inspire me. But I am also inspired by your teachers. You and your teachers have probably not always got on, and they have probably not always realised how smart you actually are, but they must have been doing something right to have got you here! So, before you leave this competition, don’t forget to thank the people who have inspired and paved the way for you. Role models like them are one of the most important things in life. And your presence here today shows that you are potentially on the way to becoming such role models yourselves. Shoulder that responsibility. Help others, just as you yourselves have received help along the way.

Because I must tell you that you are needed. In a world in which the pace of change is constantly increasing, the need for people who are constantly striving to develop, to be the best and the most skilled in their profession, to try new technologies and push new boundaries is greater than ever. Here in Sweden, perhaps the greatest threat to our economy at the moment is the shortage of people with vocational qualifications. And this competition also shows the absolute best thing about being extremely skilled in your profession: it is really good fun. So my message here today is this: The world needs your pride; we need your hands, your drive, your dreams, and we need you as role models for the future. So once again: welcome to Sweden, welcome to some hard work and difficult challenges. Let the fun begin and good luck in the competition!

An individual with Jos de Goey during EuroSkills 2016. Jos de Goey is CEO of WorldSkills Netherlands, Secretary General of WorldSkills Europe and Vice President for Strategic Affairs for WorldSkills International, tells the Champions how he first got involved with WorldSkills and shares some of his goals for the future.

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