The countdown to EuroSkills2023 starts!

The countdown to EuroSkills2023 starts! A year before the event, we met with the organizers and past participants of the competition.

The 8th edition of the prestigious EuroSkills Competition – the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in Europe – will take place from 5 to 9 September 2023 at the AMBEREXPO in Gdańsk. During a press conference in Gdańsk yesterday, Dr Paweł Poszytek, Director General of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System, talked about how Poland took over the organisation of the EuroSkills 2023 Competition, ambitions we have for the start of the Polish contestants and what organising such a big event looks like from the perspective of technical details.

"EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 is the first such huge international event held in Poland. Let us recall that Polish Competitors took part in the two previous editions of EuroSkills, in Budapest (2018) and Graz (2021) winning a total of 3 medals in the competitions: Cooking, Floristry, and Welding. In next year's edition of the Competition, we have an appetite for even more medals, as we know the capabilities of our contestants. FRSE has been involved in developing and promoting vocational education for years. We have recently signed cooperation agreements with over a dozen universities, which have taken patronage of many of the competitions, which guarantees high-quality preparation for EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023," - said FRSE Director General Dr Paweł Poszytek.

“EuroSkills is an international competition that has been held seven times so far. Next year Poland will host the event for the first time. In Gdańsk, more than 600 of the best contestants under the age of 25 from 31 WorldSkills Europe Member countries will compete in over 40 competitions which are grouped into in six industry sectors: Construction and Building Technology, Creative Arts and Fashion, Information and Communication Technology, Manufacturing and Engineering Technology, Service Industry, and Transportation and Logistics. Competitors will be judged by 500 distinguished WorldSkills Europe Experts in competition arenas covering a total area of 60,000 square meters. We estimate that EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 will attract more than 100,000 spectators from Poland and abroad." - Poszytek pointed out.

Chair of the Board of WorldSkills Europe, Teija Ripattila, said: “EuroSkills is driven by the energy, talent, and enthusiasm of the young people who are at the heart of our mission – a mission which aims to bring educators, governments, industries, and young people together to work on the shared social objective of increasing development of skills for the benefit of individuals, economies, and societies as a whole. Through EuroSkills, we are able to showcase the highest standards of excellence which motivates more young people to develop technical and vocational skills. With just 365 days to go, preparation for the EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 is already well underway; WorldSkills Europe welcomes the continued collaboration with WorldSkills Poland, FRSE and all organising partners to deliver an unforgettable Competition in September 2023 – uniting people through skills and showcasing the highest standards of excellence of young professionals from across Europe.”

It is undeniable that EuroSkills and WorldSkills Competitions are important for individual, economic, sectoral and social development. The conference moderator, Marek Zając, discussed the topic with past participants: Weronika Radoszewska, Bartosz Wicherek, Michał Formela, Krzysztof Studziński, Piotr Glazik and WorldSkills Poland experts: Iwona Niemczewska, Katarzyna Thiel-Winkler and Piotr Strzałkowski.

Our official website https://euroskills2023.org/ has also launched, and we invite everyone who wants to watch our preparations for the biggest celebration of skills in the coming year!

EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 is organised in partnership by Poland’s Foundation for The Development Of The Education System (FRSE), WorldSkills Poland, WorldSkills Europe, the City of Gdańsk and AMBEREXPO Gdańsk.