Dear Worldskills family,
It is with great sadness that we must communicate you that our honorary President and former Official
Delegate of Worldskills South Tyrol/Italy
Mr. Herbert Fritz
Official Delegate Worldskills South
deceased on Sunday 6 November 2016 in his home town Schlanders – Silandro.
For the first time a European Vocational Skills Week will be organized from 5 to 9 December 2016, just after EuroSkills 2016.
The week is organized by the EU to improve the attractiveness and image of vocational education and training. To showcase excellence quality and raise awareness of the wide range of opportunities with events in Brussels and parallel activities in Member States, EFTA and EU candidate countries at national, regional and local levels.
During this week a series of events/activities will take place in Brussels (press conference, conference, workshops, closing event with award-giving) and across Europe. They will be underpinned by a sustained communication campaign. On 9 December EuroSkills “Best of Europe” Champion is invited to the conference program.
For more information or registration, please go to the webpage.
On 1–3 December 2016, young people up to the age of 25 from all around Europe will meet at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in Gothenburg to compete for the coveted title of being the best in Europe in their chosen vocation. This is the first time that the competition will be held in Scandinavia.
Thanks to the “all-under-one-roof” concept EuroSkills 2016 in Gothenburg will give all competitors, media, experts and stakeholders the perfect platform to achieve their best. We aim at delivering an inspiring environment and lead the way as the example for hosting a sustainable skill competition. We look forward to seeing you at EuroSkills in Gothenburg on 1−3 December 2016!
Download pdf “Media accreditation opened for EuroSkills 2016”
Three cities competed for the right to organise the event in 2018, Colombia (Cartegena), Ireland (Dublin), and the Netherlands (Amsterdam). All members of WorldSkills voted for the Netherlands to host the WorldSkills General Assembly 2018 in Amsterdam.
The three bidding Members offered different visions for the General Assembly in 2018, which will include a public WorldSkills Leaders Forum that focuses on the most topical themes in vocational education and skills excellence.
The Dutch bid proposed a “concurrent, interactive, and attractive program” in Amsterdam in 2018. “A Davos of Skills”. The Dutch proposal recommended that the GA utilizes the six focus areas of WorldSkills to “involve our Dutch stakeholders, such as governmental, young people, (T)VET, internationalization, apprenticeships, and research organizations and their international partners, to make both an interesting and substantive program.”
The voting took place on the first day of the WorldSkills General Assembly in Niagara Falls, Canada.
The current General Assembly continues in Niagara Falls until 6 October.
Watch a video of all the bids and the announcement of the result at www.facebook.com/WorldSkills.
Win two fantastic trips to Thessaloniki and Brussels! Take part in the #CedefopPhotoAward photo competition on Instagram to be in with a chance to visit Cedefop and join the opening weekend of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival (www.filmfestival.gr) in November, and receive your award during the first European vocational skills week (#EUvocationalskills) in Brussels in December.
The competition theme is ‘youth in education and training’. It is addressed to EU residents 18-30 years old. The deadline is 11 September 2016. Use #CedefopPhotoAward to post your entry and make sure you set your Instagram account to public!
Peter van den Berg
08.08.1960 – 01.09.2016
It is with great sadness that we try to deal with the death of our friend and colleague, Peter van den Berg. Peter was WorldSkills Netherland’s Chief Operating Officer and the Technical Delegate for WorldSkills & EuroSkills. Above all he was a much liked and respected colleague with friends all over the world.
Peter died last Thursday after he lost his battle with cancer. We are devastated by this news and our thoughts go out to Annet, his daughters, stepchildren, family and relatives. This family man will be missed deeply.
Peter was a driving force behind many of the professional competition initiatives within our organization, motivated by his passion for educating and training young people. He had an open and positive attitude, and was a supportive colleague who always tried to give a helping hand.
Since the establishment of WorldSkills Netherlands in 2002, Peter has been active in different roles. He was always an important representative of the organization in the Netherlands and internationally within the WorldSkills movement. With his considerable knowledge and great sense of humor he was a very well respected colleague and friend.
His catchphrase was ‘give me a smile’. More than once he used those words to cheer us up in busy and stressful times. This phrase captured what he wanted: to work hard, but with a smile.
Until last week he was hopeful for the future but the cancer in his body was too aggressive. We will all miss him very much. Peter was/remains a friend, coach, colleague and member of the skills family. We will cherish the memories and from time to time they will make us smile….
Rest in peace Peter.
WorldSkills Netherlands
WorldSkills Europe
WorldSkills International
Ps: This is the link to the official mourning card. You can pay respects on the 7th of September and the funeral will take place on the 8th of September in Burgh Haamstede. You can also leave a message on the digital condolence register.
Last Friday, 30 July, It has been 55 years that the first Skills Competitions were held in Germany for the first time in 1961. On Friday and Saturday, experts of vocational training gathered on the grounds of the former company Rheinstahl, where the competition took place back then. Today the building houses the headquaters of the IKKE gGmbH (Information Center for Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Energy Technology). In the presence of Simon Bartley, President of WorldSkills International, representatives from politics, industry and education celebrated this special anniversary with a ceremonial act.
„About 193 Competitors participated in 1961, in Leipzig in 2013, there were 999 – what a growth that has been. A growth that some people in 1961 would have said, would be impossible. A competition those days was only within Europe, those days it was about 15 countries. Whereas in Sao Paulo last year, we had 1200 young people from 65 countries competing in different disciplines. “
“WorldSkills Competitions – whether back then in Duisburg or today – are more than just competitions in the form of vocational-athletic comparisons of performance. The competitions unfold a distinct appeal on all social and business levels. They are a strong instrument to compare educational systems on national and international levels”, said Hubert Romer, CEO of WorldSkills Germany and President of WorldSkills Europe. “For young professionals the preparation for the competition and of course the participation as such are challenge, adventure, happiness, acknowledgement and benefit, all in one. They develop resistance to stress, decisiveness, character, gain qualities and skills for their professional biography. WorldSkills is a career booster. And the sending companies profit from their Champions as they are role models in school, generate greater regional recognition and let the firm become a popular employer.” In the light of current events, Hubert Romer also pointed to the impact of skill competitions regarding international understanding across national borders.
More information about the ceremony: www.worldskillsgermany.com
The Finnish Olympic Committee and the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture are organizing unique events at Finland House during the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Finland House will present cases of Finnish excellence in education from pop-up school to 21st century pedagogies and educational games.
Skills Finland is also present at Finland House in order to make known the possibilities of skills competitions. All the visitors have the possibility to test some of the tasks of the Taitaja9 competition during the event. Taitaja9 is a competition for pupils in comprehensive schools. The idea is to let them test their skills in different tasks in an inspirational and fun way, thus helping them to make decisions about their education and training as well as their future career. The presentations at Finland House are organized in co-operation with HAMK University of Applied Sciences, responsible also for the training of the Finnish experts in international skills competitions.
The education event at Finland House takes place from August 17 to 19, 2016. Minister of Education and Culture Mrs. Sanni Grahn-Laasonen will open the day on August 19 at 10:00 AM.
For more information or registration, please click here.
Last Friday, 15th of July, WorldSkills Champions Barthélémy Deutsch of Belgium, Anna Prokopenia of Russia, and Karin Fischnaller of Italy, and WorldSkills Board of Directors member and Secretary General of WorldSkills Europe, Jos de Goey were present in Bonn, Germany for the UNESCO-UNEVOC World Youth Skills Day 2016 event “Looking Ahead: Inspiring and Empowering Youth through Skills Development”.
During the discussions, also attended by Germanys Technical Delegate Hendrik Voss, one of the conclusions is that no matter on what level, region, country or area an organization is, a better connection is a necessity to make Vocational Education Training part of the solution for the current status of youth unemployment, the youth and their future.
And as UN Secertary General Ban Ki Moon statet: “On this World Youth Skills Day, ley us renew our resolve to invest more in empowering young people. When we do, they can better advance the broader mission of the United Nations for lasting peace, sustainable development and human rights for all.”
More information about WYSD: http://www.un.org/en/events/youthskillsday/
Friday December 2nd is the ”WorldSkills Europe Leaders Forum Day” with the overall theme: ”Skills in the future”. The aim is to experience and discuss skills in a future perspective regarding strategies and initiatives to create a good balance between supply and demand sides in the labour market.
Key note speaker will be Stefan Fölster, Director of the Reform Institute and Associate Professor in economics at the Royal Institute of Technology, in Stockholm. He is the author of numerous books and articles on labour markets, education and other topics.
Official partners Festo, 3M and Volvo will present their views on skill demands and needs in a future perspective within their areas of interest in parallel forums during the day.
For more information about the Special Guest Program during EuroSkills 2016, please see the enclosed pdf or www.euroskills2016.com