Swiss vocational champions shine at WorldSkills Lyon 2024
WorldSkills Lyon 2024 is already history again - and will go down in the history of the Swiss delegation as a successful vocational world championships. The SwissSkills National Team won no fewer than seven gold medals, seven silver medals and one bronze medal, making it "Top 3 of World" and "Best Nation of Europe". Switzerland thus achieved a similarly good result as at WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan.
Editorial
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September 16, 2024
The 45-strong SwissSkills National Team competed in 41 skills (competitions) and won 15 medals - seven gold, seven silver and one bronze. (Image: Manu Friederich / SwissSkills)
The results are impressive! Once again, Switzerland's talented professionals excelled at WorldSkills, underlining the excellence of the country's vocational training system in an international comparison. The 45-strong SwissSkills National Team competed in 41 skills (competitions) and won an impressive 15 medals - seven gold, seven silver and one bronze. This makes Switzerland "Top 3 of World" and "Best Nation of Europe". The Technical Delegate, Martin Erlacher, is satisfied: "I am incredibly proud of our 45 competitors. Over the past few days, they have shown what they are made of in an impressive way and put Swiss vocational education and training in the very best light."
These are the professional champions with a Gold medal:
Michael Bieri (Skill Carpentry, carpenter EFZ, Süderen BE)
Edward Booth (Skill Cyber Security, Computer Scientist EFZ, Therwil BL) / Philippe Dourassov (Cyber Security skill, VD role)
Reto Dali (Skill Landscape Gardening, Gardener EFZ I Gardening and Landscaping, Gunzwil LU) / Samuel Binder (Skill Landscape Gardening, Gardener EFZ I Gardening and Landscaping, Reiden LU)
Cedric Lang (Skill Heavy Vehicle Technology, agricultural machinery mechanic EFZ, Stetten SH)
Michael Ryter (Skill Plastering and Drywall Systems, plasterer-drywall builder EFZ, Grüt ZH)
Sophie Schumacher (Skill Heavy Truck Maintenance, automotive mechatronics technician EFZ, specializing in commercial vehicles, Hagneck BE)
Carmen Többen (Skill Hotel Reception, Hotel Communication Specialist EFZ, Oberhofen BE)
There were also 21 "Medals for Excellence" - that's 8 more diplomas than at WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan. WorldSkills has already awarded two of the 15 medals for "Exhibition Skills": Sophie Schumacher's gold medal and Felix Kuster's silver medal. The team led by Edward Booth & Philippe Dourassov (Cyber Security skill) was also awarded the "Best of Nation" prize for the highest score.
"All for one, one for all!"
This shower of medals equaled the good result from WorldSkills 2019 in Kazan (5x gold, 5x silver, 6x bronze). When asked about the recipe for success, Martin Erlacher explains: "Together with the competitors, the experts, our team leaders and the rest of the delegation, we managed to live up to our motto "All for one - one for all" from A to Z. Everyone was an important piece of the puzzle of this brilliant success. Everyone was an important piece of the puzzle in this brilliant success."
Sophie Schumacher is the first woman to compete for Switzerland at WorldSkills in the field of automotive mechatronics - and she wins gold straight away. (Image: Natascha Teixeira / SwissSkills)
Sophie Schumacher wins gold at the WorldSkills competition
Spectacular success for 22-year-old Sophie Schumacher and the Swiss automotive and commercial vehicle industry: the commercial vehicle mechatronics technician from Hagneck BE wins gold at WorldSkills 2024 in Lyon (F). She is the first woman to compete for Switzerland at the vocational world championships in automotive mechatronics, and it was the first gold medal for Switzerland at this year's WorldSkills.
22-year-old commercial vehicle mechatronics technician Sophie Schumacher from Hagneck BE wins WorldSkills 2024 in Lyon (F) and becomes the first female world champion in her profession. She held her own against international competition from six other young talents in the newly introduced Heavy Truck Maintenance exhibition skill. When her name was called out at the award ceremony for the Exhibition Skill on the competition site at Eurexpo in Lyon, the Swiss fans, friends and family were overjoyed.
"I am very, very happy. All the stress and tears are forgotten. All the effort has paid off," explains Sophie Schumacher. "I knew it was going well, but I didn't realize what the others had achieved. Towards the end, however, I was already expecting a medal."
"We were able to accompany Sophie Schumacher at national level for over two years. The development she has made during this time is impressive," explains Olivier Maeder, AGVS Managing Director, Education, proudly. "In January 2023, she missed out on qualifying for EuroSkills. Fortunately, she was motivated once again to take part in the SwissSkills Championships 2023 and ultimately qualified for WorldSkills 2024 in Lyon. Watching her compete was impressive. I have never accompanied a participant to WorldSkills who was so focused on the tasks on all days and was able to consistently deliver such top performances. Congratulations, Sophie! It was a pleasure to be there and watch you."
On the last of four days of the competition, Sophie Schumacher had to solve highly demanding tasks in the "Engine Management" section. The commercial vehicle mechatronics technician was able to diagnose various faults and rectify malfunctions. Immediately after the competition, she said she was very proud that she had managed to take part. And with her expert Jean Trotti, she had had top preparation and got the maximum out of it.
Jean Trotti himself was a candidate at WorldSkills in São Paulo (Brazil) in 2015. As an expert, he is a medal winner: his candidate Damian Schmid won gold at EuroSkills 2021 in Graz (A), Fabio Bossart won silver at EuroSkills in Gdansk (Poland) last year and Sophie Schumacher has now won gold. He works as a workshop manager at Kolly SA in Aigle.
Sophie Schumacher is the first woman to compete for Switzerland at WorldSkills in the field of automotive mechatronics. The commercial vehicle skill (Heavy Truck Maintenance) also celebrated its premiere at the WorldSkills Championships.
