Category: news

For three days between 10–12 May, more than 170 talented young professionals from across Sweden gathered in the city of Växjö to compete in 30 different skills competitions.

Returning for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, this eighth edition of Sweden’s biennial National Skills Competition – Yrkes-SM 2022 – broke audience attendance records, attracting more than 22,400 visitors over three days.

A total of 98 competitors earned themselves a place on the winner’s podiums at Yrkes-SM 2022 after competing in skills ranging from traditional trades to multi-skilled technology careers in the industry and service sectors. Gold medal winners will now also have the opportunity to be selected to represent Sweden’s national team which participates at EuroSkills and WorldSkills Competitions.

In addition to the 30 skill competitions of the Championships, which was held at the Arenastaden in Växjö, 25 demonstration skills and many Try-A-Skill activities were also on show. This provided thousands of visitors with opportunities to try hands-on job-related skills across a huge range of professions as well as the chance to speak to experts about specific trades, education paths, and career journeys.

Jenny Pettersson, project manager at WorldSkills Sweden, said: “This year’s National Professional Championships have shown how much we missed meeting and being inspired by each other. The atmosphere has really been at its peak during these three competition days with record interest in our Try-A-Skill activities.”

Pettersson continued: “I would like to thank all the visitors, officials and the competing industries who made it possible to carry out the event. Hopefully, we have inspired young people to learn more about the different professions, and gain more understanding of the range of vocational programs. I would also like to extend a big congratulations to all medallists who fought during these three days and showed great skill in their professional categories.”

The ninth edition of Sweden’s National Skills Competition – Yrkes-SM 2024 – will take place in the Värmland Region with Karlstad as host city.

For further information, please visit: worldskills.se.

With 5,000 visitors, it was a welcome return to live events for this year’s WorldSkills Croatia National Competition.

More than 360 of the most talented young students from over 200 vocational schools across the country came together at Zagreb Fair between 10–12 May 2022 to compete for a chance to become the best of the best in 40 different skills competitions.

Competitors were accompanied and supported by more than 300 teachers and mentors and were also joined by international guest competitors from other European nations as they competed in a wide range of skills and professions, including traditional skills such as hairdressing and baking, modern disciplines such as IT systems administration, and inter-disciplinary skills such as mobile robotics. 

Open to the public for the first time since the pandemic, WorldSkills Croatia 2022 welcomed 5,000 visitors, including children from over 100 primary schools from across the country. The event filled five pavilions at Zagreb Fair, covering an area of ​​more than 14,000 m².

“When you hear the people walking through the halls, seeing visitors, seeing those enthusiastic young faces — it’s quite different compared to online events,” says Nino Buić of the Agency for Vocational Education and Training, which runs WorldSkills Croatia.

WorldSkills Croatia 2022 concluded with a Closing Ceremony on 12 May, where awards including gold, silver, and bronze medals were presented to the highest scoring competitors.

“Events like national skills competitions can showcase vocational education as something that has excellence, that has innovation, that’s linked with the modern technology and of course, which can provide a good living opportunity for whoever chooses this career pathway, ” added Buić. 

Organised by Croatia’s Agency for Vocational and Adult Education and supported by more than 40 partners and sponsors, the WorldSkills Croatia National Competition is the largest education event in Croatia and the biggest national vocational education and training (VET) event in Southeast Europe.

For further information about WorldSkills Croatia 2022, visit: worldskillscroatia.hr.

 

A free online international webinar, “Towards Vocational Excellence and Global Competence”, will take place on Tuesday, 17 May, from 10.00 to 13.00 (GMT).

Skills Finland is an innovator in the global skills community, so an opportunity to catch up with their latest thinking is not to be missed.

A free online international webinar with a program of speakers will be part of the Finnish national skills competition Taitaja2022 Pori in May.

The webinar will discuss the role of vocation education and training within the wider skills ecosystem, under the theme “Towards Vocational Excellence and Global Competence.”

The seminar will address two questions:

• Could VET and vocational excellence be an integral part of skills ecosystems, contributing to regional development and innovation?
• How is global competence developed and boosted?

Speaking about the webinar, Skills Finland CEO, Maria Ekroth, said: “The WorldSkills community is a huge asset for us Members. Through these types of seminars and events, that are free and open for everyone, we can share our knowledge with each other, and together promote skills and vocational education throughout the world.”

The Finnish national skills competition, Taitaja2022, will take place from 16 to 19 May 2022 in Pori, Finland. With more than 450 Competitors in 45 skills categories, Taitaja2022 Pori is the country’s largest annual vocational education event, typically attracting over 40,000 visitors.

The webinar will take place on Tuesday, 17 May, from 10.00 to 13.00 (GMT). Find out more and register on the Skills Finland website.

 

Members of the Working Group for the relocated EuroSkills Competition 2023 met in Krakow last week for the first face-to-face meeting since Poland’s bid to host the event was announced in March.

 

Representatives from Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden attended the meeting, including WorldSkills Europe Board Members Patrik Svensson and Guillaume Suteau, and WorldSkills Europe Secretariat team members Eugene Incerti (Director of Competitions and Operations) and Zsófia Zsisár (Director of Sponsorship and Partnership).

The purpose of the meeting was to continue discussions about technical and operational matters relating to the EuroSkills Competition 2023.

WorldSkills Europe would like to thank WorldSkills Poland, particularly Paweł Poszytek (Official Delegate) and Izabela Laskowska (Technical Delegate), for hosting this first meeting of the Working Group.

WorldSkills Poland’s application to host the EuroSkills Competition 2023 will be ratified by the WorldSkills Europe General Assembly at its annual meeting in June 2022.

The exact dates and a city of the relocated EuroSkills Competition 2023 are still to be confirmed. Further details will be released when available.

 

 

Image caption

(Front row, left to right) Izabela Laskowska Technical Delegate, WorldSkills Poland; Sara Gošnak, Technical Delegate, WorldSkills Slovenia; Zsófia Zsisár, Director of Sponsorship and Partnership, WorldSkills Europe; Alina Fleaca, Technical Delegate, WorldSkills Belgium.

(Back row, left to right) Eugene Incerti, Director of Competitions and Operations, WorldSkills Europe; Guillaume Suteau, Board Member, WorldSkills Europe;  Patrik Svensson, Board Member, WorldSkills Europe; Hendrik Voß, Head of VET Unit, German Confederation of Skilled Crafts; Gerhard Zechner, Technical Delegate, Austria; Tapio Kattainen, Technical Delegate, Skills Finland; Gil Belling, Technical Delegate, WorldSkills Luxembourg.

 

 

Members of the WorldSkills Europe Competitions Working Group, whose focus is on improving the quality and delivery of skills competitions featured at EuroSkills, met in Warsaw last week.

 

Representatives from Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden attended the meeting, including WorldSkills Europe Board Members Patrik Svensson and Guillaume Suteau, and WorldSkills Europe Secretariat team members Eugene Incerti (Director of Competitions and Operations) and Zsófia Zsisár (Director of Sponsorship and Partnership).

The meeting was arranged prior to Poland’s decision to bid to host the EuroSkills Competition 2023, which was announced in March, but became all the more fitting and timely as a result of the decision. The purpose of the meeting was to continue discussions about technical and operational matters relating to the EuroSkills Competition 2023.

WorldSkills Europe would like to thank WorldSkills Poland, particularly Paweł Poszytek (Official Delegate) and Izabela Laskowska (Technical Delegate), for hosting the Competitions Working Group meeting.

WorldSkills Poland’s application to host the EuroSkills Competition 2023 will be ratified by the WorldSkills Europe General Assembly at its annual meeting in June 2022.

The exact dates and a city of the relocated EuroSkills Competition 2023 are still to be confirmed. Further details will be released when available.

Image caption

(Front row, left to right) Izabela Laskowska Technical Delegate, WorldSkills Poland; Sara Gošnak, Technical Delegate, WorldSkills Slovenia; Zsófia Zsisár, Director of Sponsorship and Partnership, WorldSkills Europe; Alina Fleaca, Technical Delegate, WorldSkills Belgium.

(Back row, left to right) Eugene Incerti, Director of Competitions and Operations, WorldSkills Europe; Guillaume Suteau, Board Member, WorldSkills Europe; Patrik Svensson, Board Member, WorldSkills Europe; Hendrik Voß, Head of VET Unit, German Confederation of Skilled Crafts; Gerhard Zechner, Technical Delegate, Austria; Tapio Kattainen, Technical Delegate, Skills Finland; Gil Belling, Technical Delegate, WorldSkills Luxembourg.

 

Between 16-20 May, a series of events are scheduled to showcase best practices in Vocational Education and Training (VET) across Europe.

 

The European Commission is inviting teachers, organisations, students, and trainers to be part of the sixth edition of European Vocational Skills Week – the annual campaign that celebrates the best practices in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Europe by showcasing the benefits it offers young people and adults.

This year, the Week will centre on the theme of VET and the Green Transition, which is in line with the European Commission’s commitment to taking all the necessary steps to become carbon neutral by 2050, known as the European Green Deal, including equipping people with the appropriate skills for the transition.

Events organised by the Commission will explore what VET and the Green Transition means for us all, with an eye to the future and younger generations as the EU celebrates the European Year of Youth 2022.

European Commission events will be held on 18 and 19 May 2022 – including the flagship VET Excellence Awards  on 18 May.

How can you be part of the Week?

Anyone can participate in an event or register a VET related event to be associated with European Vocational Skills Week. Events happening at any time before or after the Week can be registered – so this is a perfect opportunity for those wishing to promote events taking place throughout all of 2022.

The European Commission will provide event organisers with resources and information to help co-brand and promote their events.

Participants are also invited to nominate and vote in the VET Excellence Awards, and to share your VET story to inspire more people to: #DiscoverYourTalent and learn about #EUVocationalSkills.

For more information about European Voactional Skills Week, please visit: ec.europa.eu/social/vocational-skills-week.

 

WorldSkills Poland has accepted a formal invitation from WorldSkills Europe to bid to host the EuroSkills Competition 2023, following the recent decision by WorldSkills Europe to relocate the event away from the Russian Federation.

 

The eighth biennial EuroSkills event was originally scheduled to take place in St Petersburg in August 2023.

The decision to invite Poland to submit a bid to host the event was made in accordance with internal procedures around electing future EuroSkills Competition hosts, which saw WorldSkills Europe approach the three Member Countries that had previously expressed intentions to bid to host the EuroSkills Competition 2027, as all were in a position to potentially host the EuroSkills Competition 2023. This included Germany, Luxembourg, and Poland. (Germany and Luxembourg had expressed an intention to submit a joint bid for 2027).

After extensive discussions between WorldSkills Europe, WorldSkills Germany, WorldSkills Luxembourg, and WorldSkills Poland, and in the true spirit of the WorldSkills movement, it was agreed by all parties that WorldSkills Poland should take up the enormous challenge of organising the EuroSkills Competition 2023 at such short notice.

WorldSkills Germany and WorldSkills Luxembourg have expressed their utmost support for WorldSkills Poland’s new bid and have confirmed that they remain committed to their plans for a joint bid to host the EuroSkills Competition 2027.

WorldSkills Europe wishes to express its sincere gratitude to WorldSkills Poland for its support and commitment to have Europe’s biggest vocational education and skills excellence event relocated to Poland.

WorldSkills Europe has been overwhelmed by the immense show of support from all its members in finding an alternative location and offers to help the future new host of the event.

WorldSkills Poland’s application to host the EuroSkills Competition 2023 will be ratified by the WorldSkills Europe General Assembly at its annual meeting in June 2022.

The exact dates and a city of the relocated EuroSkills Competition 2023 are still to be confirmed. Further details will be released when available.

WorldSkills Europe looks forward to working with WorldSkills Poland and all other WorldSkills Europe Members to bring hope and skills back to the TVET systems of Europe at a time when they are needed most.

 

 

Media enquiries:

Tom York, Director of Marketing and Communications, WorldSkills Europe

tom.york[at]worldskillseurope.org

 

About WorldSkills Poland

Although officially only a WorldSkills Europe Member Country since 2017, Poland has a much longer connection with vocational skills, with the Foundation For The Development Of The Education System (FRSE) recently celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Under a different organisation, Poland competed at EuroSkills Rotterdam 2008 and returned again under the direction of FRSE for EuroSkills Budapest 2018, with the team entering eight skills. At EuroSkills Budapest 2018, Poland achieved a Medallion for Excellence in Cooking, and at EuroSkills Graz 2021, Poland achieved its best results so far at a EuroSkills Competition, winning three bronze medals.

For more information, visit: worldskillspoland.org.pl.

 

The awards celebrate individuals and organisations championing diversity and inclusion in technical education.

 

An electronics engineer who spent lockdown designing science packs for school children and a college’s programme to get non-English speakers to sign up for language courses were among the winners at the third annual WorldSkills UK’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Heroes Awards.

The awards, in partnership with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and NCFE, celebrate the individuals and organisations championing diversity and inclusion in the technical education sectors.

Anna Hart from Edinburgh received the Rising Star award for her pioneering work in promoting STEM subjects to children — girls in particular. Anna spent the first COVID-19 lockdown creating resources to spark primary school children’s interest in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) subjects. As well as developing special packs to celebrate women in engineering, she reached out to universities to offer STEM career events to show the exciting careers for woman in engineering.

Cardiff and Vale College won EDI Ambassador of the Year for its work in opening up educational opportunities to the local community. One of the college’s programmes was so successful in getting people who did not speak English as a first language to sign up for language classes that the government rolled it out across Wales.

Middlesex University’s Puja Varsani (pictured below) was awarded the Inspirational Role Model award for her work helping women, minority groups and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds consider careers in STEM. She organises events to promote STEM subjects and careers as well as volunteering in local secondary schools holding robotics competitions.

CEO of WorldSkills UK, Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE, said: “Congratulations to all the winners. We have been so impressed with the number and quality of entries this year. We launched these awards to highlight and celebrate the impact our partners’ work is having and we have been so inspired by the people and stories behind the nominations. With more categories and entries this year, I am so pleased to see the awards going from strength to strength.”

Full list of winners

• Rising Star (sponsored by NCFE): Anna Hart, Leonardo
• Inspirational Role Model (sponsored by Festo): Puja Varsani, Middlesex University
• Inclusive Skills Excellence (sponsored by FE Week): Mo Isap, IN4 Group
• Skills Competition Diversity Champion Award (sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners): Richard Hutchins, Institute of the Motor Industry
• EDI Ambassador (sponsored by Forfusion): Cardiff and Vale College
• EDI Initiative of the Year (sponsored by Toyota Manufacturing UK): Education & Training Foundation and Association of Colleges
• Diversity Network of the Year (sponsored by Air Products): National Ambulance Disability Network
• Inclusivity in Excellence (sponsored by Palo Alto Networks): South Staffordshire College

You can watch videos about the award ceremony winners on YouTube.

 

WorldSkills Europe shares the international community’s deep concern for the security situation that is unfolding in Europe and condemns the large-scale aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

 

In response to the deeply concerning security situation that is unfolding in Europe and following an extraordinary meeting of the Board of WorldSkills Europe on Monday, 28 February, WorldSkills Europe has decided on the following course of action:

1. to move the location of the EuroSkills Competition 2023 away from the Russian Federation, with a view to relocate the event to another WorldSkills Europe Member Country. The eighth biennial EuroSkills event was due to take place in St Petersburg in August 2023.
2. to suspend, with immediate effect, WorldSkills Russia’s membership of WorldSkills Europe and consequently any involvement or participation in the EuroSkills Competition 2023, future competitions and other WorldSkills Europe projects and activities.

The decisions taken by WorldSkills Europe are based on the clear and enormous breach of our values and our Code of Ethics and Conduct by the government of Russia. WorldSkills International has today also issued a statement about a series of decisions it has made in response to the action in Ukraine. Read the WorldSkills statement.

The action in Ukraine is aimed to destabilize the education, livelihoods, and culture of a sovereign state.

The mission of the WorldSkills movement is to raise the profile and recognition of skilled people, and show how important skills are in achieving economic growth and personal success. We hope for immediate peace and call upon all countries to ensure the security of all those fleeing Ukraine, including students and workers from abroad.

Education, skill development, and economic prosperity cannot be achieved without peace.

WorldSkills Europe will be consulting with its Membership about a new location for the EuroSkills Competition 2023 in the coming weeks. Further details will be released when available.

 

 

Media enquiries:

Tom York, Director of Marketing and Communications, WorldSkills Europe

tom.york[at]worldskillseurope.org

WorldSkills Poland has staged its first ever National Competition Finals – SkillsPoland 2021.

Seventy-one of Poland’s most talented young professionals gathered in the city of Gdańsk on 25 and 26 November 2021 to compete in nine different skill competitions including: Floristry, Hairdressing, CNC Milling, Plumbing and Heating, Electrical Installations, Cabinetmaking, Heavy Vehicle Technology, Hotel Receptioning, and Joinery.

The event also served as Poland’s main selection event for the Competitiors that will take part in WorldSkills Shanghai 2022. ​Details of the winning Competitors can be found at: https://worldskillspoland.org.pl/skillspoland2021-gdansk.

WorldSkills Poland held two other National Competitions earlier this year for Chemical Lab Technician (28 May 2021) and IT skills (2 June 2021).​​​​​ The winners of these skill competitions were also confirmed as members of the national team that will compete at WorldSkills Shanghai 2022.

Raising the profile of TVET in Poland

Although officially only a WorldSkills Europe member country since 2017, Poland has a much longer connection with vocational skills, with the Foundation For The Development Of The Education System (FRSE) recently celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Under a different organisation, Poland competed at EuroSkills Rotterdam 2008 and returned again under the direction of FRSE for EuroSkills Budapest 2018, with the team entering eight skills. At EuroSkills Budapest 2018, Poland achieved a Medallion for Excellence in Cooking and a year later, at WorldSkills Kazan 2019, they won a silver medal in this skill. At EuroSkills Graz 2021, WorldSkills Poland achieved its best results so far at a EuroSkills Competition, winning three bronze medals.

WorldSkills Poland will also host the WorldSkills Europe General Assembly in 2022 in Krakow.