Festo becomes WorldSkills Global Premium Partner

Festo, a global leader in automation technology and education and a longstanding partner of WorldSkills, has become a Global Premium Partner. This exciting announcement builds on more than 30 years of collaboration between the two organizations.

The Global Premium Partner agreement was signed at Festo’s headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany on 5 September 2025 and the ceremony was attended by Dr Wilfried Stoll, Managing Partner Festo Holding, Dr Oliver Niese, CEO of Festo Didactic and Head of Digital Business Festo SE, Francis Hourant, President of WorldSkills, and Alexander Amiri, Director of Sponsorship and Partnership at WorldSkills International.

During the signing ceremony, Dr Stoll was presented with a special certificate by Francis Hourant to commemorate this new agreement. Festo now sits alongside the three other WorldSkills Global Premium Partners: Samsung, Stanley Black and Decker, and Neusoft.

While its Global Premium Partner status is new, Festo has been supporting WorldSkills for over three decades since it became one of the first WorldSkills Global Industry Partners in 1991. Since then, the company has helped develop four skill competitions: Mechatronics, Industry 4.0, Water Technology, and Renewable Energy, and played a significant part in the professionalization of the WorldSkills Movement.

Festo was an instrumental part of setting up WorldSkills Germany in 2006 and the successful bid to host WorldSkills Leipzig 2013. The Competition was a huge success, attracting over 200,000 visitors and over 1,000 Competitors. Festo has continued to provide industry-leading equipment and technical expertise to WorldSkills Competitions ever since.

Outside of these landmarks moments, Festo provides year round training to WorldSkills Members, Experts, and Competitors. It plays an active role in ensuring the WorldSkills Competition framework and WorldSkills Occupational Standards are aligned with industry needs, and it supports new Members through capacity building and best practice sharing.

Festo’s legacy, along with its technical advancements, feature in the WorldSkills Museum in Shanghai. The company has donated many artefacts to the museum and helped design the remarkable bionics exhibition, which shows how the movement of animals in nature have inspired the development of robotics and motion control in industrial manufacturing.

Dr Stoll said he was proud to see the partnership go to a new level and welcomed the opportunity for Festo to contribute even more to the global skills movement. Dr Niese underlined “We are honoured to continue our journey with WorldSkills as a Global Premium Partner. Today, skills are needed more than ever. They are the building blocks of resilient communities and strong economies, and they remain fundamental to our mission.”

Francis Hourant, President of WorldSkills, praised Festo’s enduring partnership and visionary approach. He said, “Festo has been an integral part of WorldSkills success, and now we are on the brink of a new exciting era for WorldSkills. It is the perfect moment for Festo to become a WorldSkills Global Premium Partner.”

Learn more about WorldSkills Global Partners and visit Festo’s website to find out more about their work and programmes.