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9 December 2022

Lyon, France welcomes the skills community in 2024

The 47th WorldSkills Competition, set to take place 10 to 15 September 2024, will prioritize sustainability.

With the end of WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition in Salzburg, Austria, the focus shifts to Lyon as the host for the next WorldSkills Competition and a return to a centralized, single-location event.

France was one of 15 countries and regions to host skill competitions as part of WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition. During the 46th WorldSkills Competition that stretched over 12 weeks in 26 cities, WorldSkills France hosted in Bordeaux:

  • Digital Construction
  • Health and Social Care
  • Mechanical Engineering CAD
  • Mobile Robotics
  • Plastering and Drywall Systems

Highlighting their commitment to help organize an alternative Competition, President of WorldSkills France, Florence Poivey, said that France had a “duty” to participate in the collective effort to ensure the Competition could take place in 2022.

“WorldSkills Competition 2022 was an unprecedented opportunity to promote skills and vocational training. Anchored in a context of economic recovery, its ambition was to mobilize young people and their skills to promote employability and fulfilment, in response to the challenges of our societies around the world, today and in the future,” said Ms Poivey.

“Bordeaux was above all an extraordinary opportunity to compare ourselves with the best in the world, and to discuss skills and their developments. It is also a way of anticipating the hosting of the WorldSkills Competition 2024.”

As is customary for future Competition hosts, WorldSkills Lyon 2024 Organizing Committee took an observatory role in the event preceding their turn to host the world. During Special Edition, their delegations observed events in Bern, Leonberg, Bordeaux, Cardiff, Lahr, and Salzburg, meeting key stakeholders, representatives, and WorldSkills International - building knowledge and experience to face the challenges and opportunities ahead of them.

Hosting the competitions in Bordeaux “made for a very rich, varied, and contrasted observation with many lessons learned to actively start implementing for WorldSkills Lyon 2024 starting next year,” said Isabelle Lejeune, Marketing & Communication Manager.

France won the bid to host the 47th WorldSkills Competition at WorldSkills General Assembly 2019. It will be the second time in the history of the international championship that France and Lyon will host the event.

The bid for WorldSkills Lyon 2024 rooted the event in sustainability. France committed to right-sizing the Competition without limiting its participation, while ensuring that Competitions remain attractive in the future for participants, stakeholders, and future Hosts.

“WorldSkills Lyon 2024 wants the Competition and events to be responsible and exemplary, and that is why we aim to implement a responsible management system and obtain a number of certifications. This work will provide guidelines and methods to ensure the sustainable development for WorldSkills Lyon 2024 and all its activities,” adds Ms Lejeune.

Following observation missions carried out during Special Edition, WorldSkills Lyon 2024 will develop a list of action items on their lessons learnt and best practices. Working in partnership with local authorities in Lyon, the Organizing Committee for WorldSkills Lyon 2024 hopes to leave a lasting legacy that can serve as a reference for future events whether regional, nationwide or for the WorldSkills movement as a whole.

WorldSkills Lyon 2024 will take place from 10 to 15 September 2024 at EUREXPO Lyon. The 47th WorldSkills Competition will welcome 1,500 Competitors from over 65 countries and regions to Lyon, France. The WorldSkills Lyon 2024 Organizing Committee is a national initiative supported by the regions in France, and in particular, the Metropolis of Lyon.

Follow along on the journey to Lyon at: