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As countries around the world emerge from the economic and social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, WorldSkills UK has announced that it is working with members of WorldSkills and WorldSkills Europe to leverage international polices and best practice in skills development to support economic recovery in the UK and on a global scale.

WorldSkills UK is seeking to agree formal partnerships with other members internationally to create new and innovative ways for peer-to-peer knowledge exchange, that will enable members to drive excellence in the quality and delivery of TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) on a national and international scale. 

In addition to these partnerships, WorldSkills UK is also hosting a series of Virtual International Pressure Tests, which will include best practice exchanges and training in events in skills including Cyber Security, Chemical Laboratory Technician, IT, and Cooking.

Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE, Chief Executive, WorldSkills UK said: “In the UK, the government has pledged to deliver a skills-led recovery, and we believe we can support this by leveraging international best practice in skills development and championing higher quality training standards so that more young people and their employers succeed.  

“Working with our partners from across the WorldSkills and WorldSkills Europe membership, we can set a new level of ambition, with our sights on excellence as the standard the next generation should expect from technical education and training, leading the charge towards UK and global recovery and economic growth.”

The largest Virtual International Pressure Test will take place in IT on the 24, 25 April and 1, 2 May and will feature 32 competitors from 24 countries.  WorldSkills UK will also host the Best Practice Exchange in IT on 21 April where WorldSkills Experts from Russia, Sweden and the UK will discuss the latest global trends in IT. 

For more information and to register, visit: www.worldskillsuk.org/skills/virtual-international-pressure-tests

WorldSkills Europe and the Organising Committee of EuroSkills St Petersburg 2022 officially announced today the postponement of EuroSkills St Petersburg 2022 by one year to 2023.

The new dates for EuroSkills St Petersburg 2023 have been scheduled for 16 – 20 August 2023.

The decision to reschedule the event was taken following the rescheduling of EuroSkills Graz to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WorldSkills Europe announced in December that EuroSkills Herning 2024 has also been postponed by one year to 2025.

The changes to the WorldSkills Europe schedule of events mean that all future EuroSkills Competitions will continue to take place in alternate years to WorldSkills Competitions.

Dita Traidas, President of WorldSkills Europe, said: “We are very grateful for the responsive support of WorldSkills Russia, the government of the city of St Petersburg, and the St Petersburg EXPOFORUM, who have worked to make the rescheduling of EuroSkills St Petersburg possible. We appreciate their continued devotion and investment which means we can continue to showcase the WorldSkills movement across Europe.”

Russia’s hosting of EuroSkills St Petersburg 2023 is arranged by a partnership consisting of WorldSkills Russia, the government of St Petersburg, and the St Petersburg EXPOFORUM.

Robert Urazov, Director General of WorldSkills Russia, said: “During the pandemic, Russia not only did not slow down, but, on the contrary, the country managed to build a new technological path, proved to be a driver of international cooperation in terms of training and learning professionals, became the first in the world to have successfully developed and implemented a new remote in-person format for large-scale events for the activities of the movement, including the national competition by WorldSkills methodology. Russian experience was observed by countries all over the world, and they offered their competitors and experts to participate in the competitions. We are ready to share our knowledge, continue development, and apply useful innovations at international competitions”.

Alexander Beglov, Governor of St Petersburg, said:”The business and educational event schedule has changed drastically over the last year because of the pandemic. Many world-class events were cancelled, and some were conducted online instead. We fully accept the decision to postpone EuroSkills St Petersburg 2022 until August of 2023. The important thing is that the competition is still going to happen! Preparations for the European stage of the competition will continue in St Petersburg. We are currently considering our options in regards to organizing visa-free entry for participants and work is underway to ensure event security. We will do everything in our power to make EuroSkills a true celebration that participants and viewers alike can enjoy. See you all in St Petersburg in 2023.”

The new dates for EuroSkills Herning 2025 are still being finalised and will be announced at a later date.

WorldSkills Europe and the EuroSkills Graz Organising Committee officially announced today that EuroSkills Graz has been rescheduled for 22–26 September 2021.

The event was originally scheduled to take place in September 2020 but was postponed twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic – first to January 2021 and then indefinitely – while the Austrian authorities re-organised to mitigate against the spread of the virus.

WorldSkills Europe has communicated and collaborated closely with its Members, Competition Organisers, Partners, and stakeholders since the pandemic began, and is constantly moderating all possible scenarios around risk management and risk mitigation for holding EuroSkills Graz in September 2021.

The EuroSkills Graz 2021 team has drawn up extensive measures and developed a well-balanced and extremely comprehensive Covid-19 prevention concept in line with the regulations currently in force in order to host the event in September 2021.

The original venue for the event, Messecongress Graz, is already booked for other events in September 2021, so EuroSkills Graz 2021 will take place in the Schwarzl Freizeitzentrum Center, which is located 15km from the centre of Graz.

Further information about the rescheduled event is available at www.euroskills2021.com.

Dita Traidas, President of WorldSkills Europe, said: “As with all major international events, the pandemic has significantly impacted the planning and hosting of the EuroSkills event in Graz. We are incredibly thankful and proud of the EuroSkills Graz team who have worked tirelessly and in close collaboration with WorldSkills Europe to ensure we continue driving the WorldSkills movement forward in these complicated circumstances.

“We are grateful for the strong commitment of the supporters of EuroSkills Graz 2021 and look forward with great hope, so that despite everything we have gone through, in September this year we will have the best skills event in Europe once again.”

Josef Herk, EuroSkills 2021 initiator and President of the Styrian Chamber of Commerce, said: “We will do everything in our power to hold EuroSkills in Graz in autumn 2021. With our enthusiasm and spirit unbroken, we shall make it an international showcase for education and training. Qualified education and training, and our young professionals – these are the future of our countries, the future of Europe. In the coming years we will face enormous challenges, which we can only overcome with the help of our young professionals in Europe. In the spirit of a culture of enabling, the relocation of the event offers us many new possibilities for this festival of young professionals with its spacious open-air grounds. I would like to thank all supporters, patrons and sponsors who have remained loyal to us in these challenging times.”

WorldSkills Europe and SkillsDenmark officially announced today the postponement of EuroSkills Herning 2024 by one year to 2025.

The decision was made to ensure the event is aligned with changes to the WorldSkills International Competition schedule that were announced on 3 November, which include the postponement of WorldSkills Shanghai from 2021 to 2022 and WorldSkills Lyon from 2023 to 2024.

WorldSkills Europe is grateful for the support of SkillsDenmark and all organising partners in Denmark who have worked to make the postponement of EuroSkills Herning to 2025 possible. WorldSkills Europe believes early and clear decisions are best for all stakeholders.

Denmark’s hosting of EuroSkills Herning 2025 is arranged by a partnership consisting of Denmark’s Ministry of Children and Education, Herning Municipality, the Central Jutland Region, the Danish Employers’ Association, the Trade Union Movement’s Main Organisation and SkillsDenmark.

”All the parties behind EuroSkills in Denmark agree that a move is the best choice. So we are still looking forward to Denmark being the European centre for the skilled youth – now just in 2025 instead of 2024.”said Jesper Juul Sørensen, Chairman of Skills Denmark.

WorldSkills Europe is in continued consultation with the Organising Committees of EuroSkills Graz 2020 and EuroSkills St Petersburg 2022 who are examining the possibilities of securing alternative dates for hosting their respective events. We expect to be able to confirm further details later in December 2020.

Denmark was confirmed as the host of EuroSkills 2024 (now 2025) with Herning as the host city at the WorldSkills Europe General Assembly on 16 September 2020.

Online voting has opened for the European Commission’s 2020 Vocational Education and Training (VET) Excellence Awards.

Organised as part of European Vocational Skills Week, the #VETexcellence Awards recognise and celebrate the success of organisations, schools, training providers and individuals across Europe that demonstrate excellence in VET.

We are pleased to report that two members of the WorldSkills movement have been shortlisted in this year’s Awards:

• Latvia’s State Education Development Agency, which organises the country’s participation in EuroSkills and WorldSkills Competitions (nominated in the European Funding for Excellence in VET category).
• Lithuania’s Mr Vitalij Kabelis, who is a judge and training manager for Lithuania’s Automobile Technology competitors at EuroSkills (nominated in the VET Teacher and Trainer Category). 

Other finalists include an aircraft maintenance technician apprenticeship programme in Estonia, pioneering VET research programmes in Finland and Germany, and a forest preservation internship in Italy.

Have your say and vote for your favourite nominee in each category. 

Voting is open until 10 November. Award winners will be announced on 13 November at the European Vocational Skills Week Closing Ceremony.

For the latest information about the Awards and to register to vote, visit: https://ec.europa.eu/social/vocational-skills-week/awards-vet-excellence-2020 

The fifth edition of European Vocational Skills Week will take place from 9­ – 13 November 2020.

European Vocational Skills Week is an annual event which sees local, regional or national organisations across Europe showcase the very best of vocational education and training (VET). The Week is a platform to make VET’s potential more widely known, and an opportunity to exchange information and good practice across Europe and beyond.

This year, due to Covid-19, the Week’s activity will be hosted 100% online by the European Commission in cooperation with the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Hundreds of partner events will take place digitally across the EU and anyone, anywhere is welcome to join these partner activities. 

The theme of year’s Week is “VET for Green and Digital Transitions”, in line with the Commission’s priorities of a “European Green Deal” and a “Europe fit for the digital age”.

Key social media hashtags for the Week are #EUVocationalSkills and #DiscoverYourTalent.

For more information, visit: https://ec.europa.eu/social/vocational-skills-week

Denmark has been chosen to host EuroSkills in 2024. WorldSkills Europe Members voted unanimously for the Danish city at its General Assembly on 16 September 2020.

The Danish government worked closely with the Trade Union Movement’s Main Organisation, the Danish Employers’ Association, Herning Municipality, the Central Jutland Region and Skills Denmark on the bid to bring EuroSkills to Denmark in 2024 as part of an ambitious overall strategy to get more young people to choose vocational education.

Commenting on the country’s successful appointment, Denmark’s Minister for Children and Education Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil said: “It is difficult to contain our excitement that EuroSkills will be held in Denmark. EuroSkills is more than a competition. It is a way to focus on the many exciting vocational education programmes and the opportunities it offers to be excellent at one’s skill.”

Jesper Juul Sørensen and Søren Heisel Chairman and Deputy Chairman of SkillsDenmark said: “We look forward to welcoming our colleagues from all over Europe. It is a huge event that is now coming to Denmark for the first time ever. International skills competitions give talented young Danish people the opportunity to compete against the elite from all over Europe, and at the same time provide inspiration for developing the trades and skills and the way we work with vocational education.”

Dita Traidas, President of WorldSkills Europe, said: “Congratulations to Denmark on their successful appointment to host EuroSkills 2024. Denmark is a strong member of WorldSkills Europe and we are thankful for their devotion, commitment, and investment to help drive the WorldSkills movement forward. We wish them well with their work over the next few years and we are very proud of them.”

Denmark was originally due to compete against WorldSkills Netherlands in the bidding process, but WorldSkills Netherlands informed WorldSkills Europe of the withdrawal of their bid in July 2020. WorldSkills Europe fully understands the difficult decision WorldSkills Netherlands had to make, and would like to thank them and their stakeholders for the efforts put into their bid. We wish them all the best, and look forward to our continued collaboration.

Euroskills 2024 will be held at MCH Messecenter Herning which is the largest exhibition centre in Scandinavia. Herning houses a thriving industrial sector, with a large international workforce focusing on a shift towards Industry 4.0. This is a result of a long-standing tradition of close cooperation between local industry and businesses, educational institutions, elementary schools and the municipality.

Patrik Svensson has been appointed as Vice-Chair of the WorldSkills Europe Competitions Committee and Member of the Board of Directors.

Currently Technical Delegate at WorldSkills Sweden, Patrik Svensson was elected to the position unopposed after a unanimous show of virtual hands by Members at an extraordinary General Assembly which was held as a video conference on 30 June 2020.

Patrik Svensson has been involved in the WorldSkills movement since 2010 when he participated as an observer at EuroSkills Lisbon. He was appointed to the role of Competition Executive Manager at WorldSkills Sweden in 2016 for the EuroSkills Gothenburg Competition. He then became Sweden’s Technical Delegate for WorldSkills in 2016 and subsequently for EuroSkills in 2017.

Commenting on his appointment, Patrik Svensson said: “It is an honour join to the WorldSkills Europe Board of Directors. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and commitment as a Board Member, and to working with an exceptionally talented team dedicated to developing WorldSkills Europe and EuroSkills Competitions.”

Patrik Svensson replaces Zsófia Csiszár who stepped down as a Board Member in May 2020 in order to join the WorldSkills Europe Secretariat as Sponsorship Manager.

In the coming weeks WorldSkills will be leading a global thank you to the people who kept or are continuing to keep the world moving during lockdown. Thanks to these essential skilled workers, doing their jobs behind the scenes, the world has not completely shut down.

We have had food on our tables, water running from our taps, computer networks staying connected, and plumbing systems functioning. We do not always see the work these skilled professionals are doing especially when many of us are at home but they’re taking risks to make sure the world keeps moving.

As a result, we at WorldSkills Europe, would ask you to join WorldSkills in celebrating essential skilled workers wherever you live.

Watch the launch film for the #skillskeepmoving campaign below:

Over the coming month WorldSkills will be sharing stories of the Skills Champions who have been instrumental to the skills-based response to the pandemic – from the Restaurant Service Competitor who has been connecting COVID-19 patients in Belgium with their families to the Mobile Robotics Competitor in India who has designed a robotic nurse that supports doctors as they treat the most ill patients.

WorldSkills will also tell us about how resourceful and innovative Member organisations of WorldSkills and WorldSkills Europe have been supporting their governments and communities through this crisis.

Throughout the coming month WorldSkills will host online WorldSkills Conference Talks that examine how the sector can respond to this crisis, based on the actual experiences that young skilled professionals are facing. The WorldSkills Conference Talks are open to all.

So please join WorldSkills and WorldSkills Europe here, on our social channels, follow #skillskeepmoving and #essentialworkers, and at the WorldSkills Talks to help celebrate the essential skilled workers who have continued to keep the world moving. 

Find out more at: https://worldskills.org/what/projects/skillskeepmoving