Budapest hosted successfully the EuroSkills 2018 competition. The European Championship of young professionals was organised by the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and WorldSkills Europe between 26-28 September. In total 525 competitors and 500 experts took part in the 3 days competition, in 6 competition sectors, 37 trades, attracting around 100,000 visitors . They had the possibility to try out different trades and professions in an interactive way, thus the championship served also as a career guidance event.
The event was accompanied by exhibitions. conferences, professional presentations, etc., offering an opportunity for the delegations to exchange information, share best practices and build new partnerships. On the 27 of September a conference was held with the title ’Click to the future’. The speakers aborded the improvement of employment and lifelong learning opportunities in VET, practice-oriented education, the challenges of digitalization, industry 4.0 revolution and career development issues.
The winners were announced during a closing ceremony in the László Papp Sport Hall of Budapest on 29 September 2018. János Áder, President of Hungary, Dr László Parragh, President of Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Dita Traidas, President of WorldSkills Europe were all attended the event. On the ceremony not just the winners were announced but the title of the best of the continent and the bests of the nations were also awarded.
The best of Europe title in 2018 was won by Daniel Gerber (electrical installations) from Switzerland and the best of nation title was given to Ádám János Nagy (cabinet maker). Hungarian competitors tried themselves in 27 trades and managed to be ranked in 17. Our young professionals again proved that their knowledge and skills are outstanding in Europe by being awarded with 3 golden, 3 silver, 3 bronze and 8 Medallion for Excellence. The most medal was won by the Russian team, then came Austria and at last France; Hungary finished fourth. The Masterpiece of the Hungarian Craftmanship prize was also awarded to the creators of outstanding handcraft products
“Hungary, the Hungarian institutions together with the organizations and companies have made the event of EuroSkills 2018 Budapest a great and unforgettable experience for the most talented youth of Europe. Hungary also assigned the beginning of the new decade for EuroSkills, with its outstanding professionalism the country showed during the event and raised both the standard as well as the scale of the competition” – highlighted Dita Traidas, President of WorldSkills Europe.
“The economy won, Europe’s economy, including that of Hungary’s because we have been enriched with such young professionals whose success and performance raise the standards of quality of the event. The Hungarian vocational education has also won because it was able to show our elite young professionals to those who are just planning to embark on this road.” – said Dr László Parragh, President of the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The medals were handed over by Dr László Palkovics, Minister for Innovation and Technology and Gáborné Pölöskei Deputy State Secretary for VET and AL. The organization of the international professional event was supported by 84 sponsors and 20 partners with machines, tools, materials, technical staff and know how. 700 volunteers from different schools of Budapest also helped the realization of the competition.
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