After the competitions at the Olympics and Paralympics, the next global championship is now in the starting blocks: from September 10 to 15, 2024, the eyes of the world will turn to Lyon, France, where WorldSkills 2024 will take place. This “World Championship of Skills” will bring together the best young professionals from over 65 countries to demonstrate their skills in more than 50 professional disciplines.
WorldSkills: More than just a competition
WorldSkills is much more than just a competition. They are a platform that promotes excellence in vocational training and inspires young talent.
This competition has been held since 1950, always in Madrid until 1957, then only in Europe until 1969 and only then worldwide, starting with Tokyo.
-Wikipedia
With over 1,500 participants and hundreds of thousands of visitors, this event has developed into a global showcase for excellence in trade, industry and services.
Germany’s road to Lyon
The path to participation in WorldSkills is long and demanding for German skilled workers. National championships serve as qualifiers, where the best in their field are determined. The annual Euroskills serve as an intermediate stage.
WorldSkills Germany, which is responsible for sending the German team, coordinates this process and prepares the participants intensively for the international competition.
Germany can look back on a proud history at WorldSkills. At the last event in 2022 (which was decentralized due to the pandemic), the German team won a total of 19 medals, including three gold. Germany has shone time and again, particularly in technical disciplines such as mechatronics and plant mechanics.
Switzerland as a role model
As the best European nation, Switzerland has once again established itself as a true medal winner at WorldSkills. Switzerland won a total of 31 medals at the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition, including 5 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze medals.
Their dual training system and the high social esteem in which vocational training is held are often seen as the key to this success. The intensive preparation of the participants, which often begins years before the competition, also contributes to their success.
China’s growing ambitions and centralized approach
Special attention can also be paid to China. The country has made impressive progress in recent competitions and sees WorldSkills as an opportunity to demonstrate its rapid economic development in the field of vocational education and training.
China’s delegation for the upcoming 47th WorldSkills Competition has been established, with the group to participate in all 59 projects across six categories, said the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. https://t.co/SGbZLyD7Sz
– China Daily (@ChinaDaily) September 5, 2024
China’s approach differs significantly from that of Western countries. The country has a centralized education system that focuses on mass education and intensive specialization. One example of this is a school that trains 140,000 hairdressers every year. This “barracks drill”, as Swiss expert Ueli Müller describes it, enables China to select talented individuals from a large pool and train them for years specifically for WorldSkills. This approach contrasts with the idea of dual vocational training as practiced in Germany and Switzerland.
Diversity of disciplines
WorldSkills reflects the diversity of the modern working world. In addition to traditional skilled trades, the competition program increasingly includes disciplines such as cyber security, robotics and Industry 4.0.
Germany will be represented in 37 of the more than 50 disciplines in Lyon, with a particularly strong line-up in the technical and craft disciplines.
The German team 2024
With 42 top young professionals, Germany has one of the largest teams. It will be particularly exciting in disciplines such as plant mechanics and electronics, where Germany is traditionally strong. But the German team also has a chance of winning medals in newer areas such as Industry 4.0.
Experience WorldSkills live
Anyone wishing to follow the competitions can do so via various channels. The official WorldSkills 2024 website offers live streams and the latest updates. You can also support and cheer on the German team via WorldSkills Germany’s social media channels (e.g. Instagram).
And if you want to watch the livestream of the opening event on September 9, 2024 from 7 p.m., you can do so right here:
Conclusion: More than medals
WorldSkills 2024 offers a unique platform to get to know the future of work and explore innovative training paths. Participants from all over the world will showcase their skills. It’s about more than just medals. The real prize lies in global collaboration to promote excellence in vocational education and training and inspire the next generation of professionals.
We inspire young people through competitions to develop a passion for their professional skills and the pursuit of excellence.
WorldSkills underlines the importance of lifelong learning and adaptability in a constantly changing professional world. They show how important it is to combine traditional training paths with new technologies and methods in order to prepare skilled workers for the demands of the future. In this sense, WorldSkills is a signpost for the design of modern, future-proof vocational training systems worldwide.