2023-09-05 21:07:04
European vocational championships in Gdansk: 600 skilled workers will be fighting for precious metals until Friday – Austria wants to consolidate its reputation as the most successful vocational nation in Europe
Gdansk (OTS) – Where the players of the Polish football club Lechia Gdańsk are usually cheered, the round of applause belonged to around 600 EuroSkills specialists on Tuesday evening: The official starting signal for the European vocational championships was given with the ceremonial opening in the Polsat Arena in Gdansk, which can accommodate more than 40,000 fans . Europe’s best specialists in trades such as structural engineering, bakery, web development, beauty care, mechatronics, machining technology etc. from 32 nations opened the eighth European Championship with the traditional flag parade – the first on Polish soil. The sea of flags was opened by the colors red and white – and also decided: Due to the alphabet, Team Austria – led by flag bearer Johannes Bojer, agricultural and construction machinery technician from Semriach – moved in at the beginning of the event, host Poland ended the event, which was accompanied by DJs Parade.
Subtitle: Plakolm: “Austria is a world power”
From Wednesday to Friday, 44 local representatives in 38 professions fight for precious metal. On Saturday evening, again in the Polsat Arena, the medals will be awarded. Before that, however, the Austrian skilled workers want to get top performances on the stage of the best in Europe: “I’ll keep my fingers crossed for our starters at the European Skills Championships. Austria is a real world power when it comes to skilled workers in industry, trade and services and I am confident that we will show that again with our Team Austria,” said Secretary of State for Youth Claudia Plakolm.
Zwtl.: Herk: “Highest competence, strong nerves and luck of the fit”
SkillsAustria President Josef Herk is clear: “Our aces have been preparing for this international competition for months and have trained hard for this moment. Now it depends on the highest level of competence, strong nerves and the luck of the fittest. We are confident that our pros will once again make Austria celebrate. But it is even more important that they carry Austria’s successful vocational training into the world.” The latter was achieved at the European Championships in 2021: At the home European Championships in Graz, the team of 54 at the time won 33 medals – eleven of them in gold and twelve in silver and ten in bronze.
However, SkillsAustria Managing Director Jürgen Kraft does not want to let the pressure to succeed arise: “During the months of preparation, our participants have proven that they are real champions: they have expanded their technical skills, have learned a lot mentally – and are in countless training units often taken to extremes. Everyone who starts here can already feel like a winner.”
Sub: Most successful “EuroSkills” nation
From a purely statistical point of view, Austria is one of the absolute top favorites in all professions: Since the start of the European Professional Championships in 2008, Red-White-Red has always been able to win first or second place in the medal table. Specifically, this means: In 2021 (in Graz) and 2018 (in Budapest), Team Austria – behind Russia in each case – placed second. In 2016 (in Gothenburg, Sweden), 2014 (in Lille, France) and 2012 (in Spa, Belgium) Austria conquered the European top.
In 2010 (in Lisbon, Portugal) and at the premiere in 2008 (in Rotterdam, the Netherlands) our “Young Professionals” took second place in the European medal balance – behind the host nation in each case. The bottom line is that the Austrian young professionals – at least from this perspective – make our country the most successful nation in the still young history of EuroSkills, ahead of Finland, the Netherlands and Germany. The last world skills championship WorldSkills 2022, where Austria was able to assert itself as the second-best EU nation behind France, also gives hope for a renewed rain of medals.
Subtitle: Not a sure-fire success
The fact that the records will tumble again this year is anything but a sure-fire success: with 44 participants, Austria may have the largest team in Europe, but at the same time it will be ten fewer than in Graz in 2021. In addition, a large number of countries have massively upgraded or professionalized their preparation and approach to the major international competitions – this also has an effect on the number of participants: while there were 400 international specialists at the start at the home Euro, this year there are a third more. How these changes will affect the medal balance in 2023 will be apparent at the latest after the “Closing Ceremony” on Saturday, from 6 p.m.
Subtitle: Videos and photos (Credit: Skills Austria/Florian Wieser)
- Secretary of State for Youth Claudia Plakolm keeps her fingers crossed for the 44 participants of the EuroSkills on site. (click here)
- Flag parade: Austria opened the flag more at the eighth European vocational championships, the first on Polish soil. (click here)
- You can find more pictures from the “Opening Ceremony”. here.
- All pictures of EuroSkills 2023 on our Flickr channel (click here)
- SkillsAustria – YouTube
Subtitle: Online and Social Media
Homepage – www.skillsaustria.at
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Facebook – SkillsAustria | Vienna (facebook.com)
Questions & contact:
DMC – Data & Media Center
press office
Austrian Chamber of Commerce
T 0590 900 – 4462
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Christopher Sammer
SkillsAustria – association for the promotion of professional competitions
Communication & media support
+43 664 233 0908
christoph.sammer@skillsaustria.at
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