The future’s in your hands (L’avenir, c’est deux mains)

By skillsbelgium

If we listened to little boys and girls, we’d think that the world was populated with firemen, pilots, nurses and school teachers. And if we listened to their parents, it would be full of doctors and lawyers.

There is an urgent need for us to stop pitting practical knowledge against abstract knowledge. That’s why skillsbelgium decided to start 2010 with a campaign to improve the image of vocational skills and the young people who embark on them.

These young men and women — whether technicians, cooks, roofers, web designers, electricians, welders, mechatronics engineers, graphic designers, bricklayers, tilers, joiners or printers — are undoubtedly the key players in an advancing economy.

Being successful means doing what you love! ‘Hard’, ‘poorly paid’, ‘unglamorous’ and ‘highly selective’ are just some of the many clichés that the vocational skills find it hard to shake off. Dispelling these prejudices, promoting valuable know-how and giving young people access to a carefully chosen and liberating career path are the objectives of the campaign. The campaign targets young people, parents (with a particular focus on mothers), teachers, trainers, and decision-makers.

The main elements are:

• The key visual: A hand ‘tattooed’ with names of several skills, with the lettering graphically representing each skill. It is a graphic reminder that there are some professions we cannot do without.
• The slogan: ‘The future’s in your hands’ (L’avenir, c’est deux mains) — five words that enhance the image of these trades by making them an integral part of the future and its opportunities. Simple, direct and meaningful language which instantly gets the message across. With the added bonus of an elegant and memorable play on words: In French, ‘deux mains’ and ‘demain’ are homophones (they sound the same) but have the meanings ‘two hands’ and ‘tomorrow’.

There are also media tailored to each target group:

• Two-sided posters: 200 000 copies inserted in magazines (Le Vif and Elle Belgique) and in media linked to the professional sectors, schools and training institutions.
• TV campaign: 3 weeks on the 12 local television channels.
• Radio campaign: 200 commercials on general-interest radio stations and ‘youth-mix’ radio stations.
• Postcard & badge: 25 000 handed out to young people at fairs and exhibitions, schools, training centres, etc.
• A USB memory key: 1 000 for teachers with videos presenting international WorldSkills and EuroSkills competition.

For more information please visit skillsbelgium.