42 young Swiss vocational champions selected for WorldSkills 2022 in Shanghai
As part of the SwissSkills National Team, 42 young vocational champions will be preparing intensively over the next 12 months for the World Skills Championships and for comparison with the best skilled workers from around the world.
42 young professionals between the ages of 18 and 22, all of whom have successfully launched their careers with an apprenticeship, will represent Switzerland and their professions at WorldSkills in Shanghai from October 12 to 17, 2022. 40 names in the Swiss line-up are known a year before the grand opening, with only the plumbers, heating engineers and carpenters to be nominated in the coming weeks. So far, the team includes 32 men and 8 women from 15 different cantons, with French-speaking Switzerland represented by 6 competitors. In three disciplines (landscape gardener, automation technician and industry 4.0) teams of 2 compete, accordingly Switzerland is represented in a total of 39 competitions.
EuroSkills participants bring the "spirit of Graz" to the team
For the first time ever at a WorldSkills mission, no fewer than seven team members bring experience from international championships. European champions Yunus Ruff and Silvan Wiedmer (Industry 4.0), Mario Liechti (Electronics Technician/2nd in Graz), Gil Beutler (Polymechanic Automation/2nd), Susan Wildermuth (Decorative Painter/3rd), Adrian Büttler (Plasterer-Drywaller/3rd) and Jan Meier (Constructor/4th) will carry the "spirit of Graz" into the Swiss WorldSkills team.
Intensive preparation ahead
The country's best young professionals have been recommended for the national team during the SwissSkills Championships and - depending on the profession - in other selection procedures carried out by the professional associations.
In the coming 12 months, the professional champions now face an extremely intensive, but also personally and professionally formative preparation period. The nature of the preparation training is as varied as the 39 different competitions in which Switzerland will be represented in Shanghai. What all participants have in common is that only with a lot of diligence, sacrifice and determination can the dream of the desired medal become reality. When the Swiss team marches in with the Swiss flag at the big opening ceremony in a year's time, the team members will each have an average of around 1000 hours of preparation behind them.
Experts support professional champions
For the subject-specific preparation, the talented professionals can count on the support of their experts nominated by the professional associations, who generally coordinate the training program very closely with the employers and can count on their great support. The preparation program also includes physical and mental elements, as well as performance and media training. Team cohesion and the exchange of experience among the 42 competitors are promoted during 6 team weekends.
"The next year will be very intense for our National Team and will require a lot of passion and perseverance. But first and foremost, the path that our team members now have ahead of them until a year from now is a unique, priceless further education and school of life with many highly emotional moments," explains Martin Erlacher, the technical delegate of SwissSkills.
You can find more information here: www.swiss-skills.ch/shanghai
