The making of a WorldSkills Champion

It is the last day of WorldSkills Lyon 2024. Inside Eurexpo, the competition venue fills with the sound of drums, cheers, and cowbells. As the countdown for the Landscape Gardening competition ends, Samuel Bider and Reto Dali set down their tools. The Swiss teammates hug and smile with relief, four intense days of competition finally behind them.

These two young people do not know it yet, but they have just secured gold at the 47th WorldSkills Competition – the largest skills competition in the world. Behind this moment of celebration, lie years of training and preparation and the determination to deliver under pressure.

What does it take to be a WorldSkills Champion? Reto sums it up saying, “At first you need to enjoy your job, but the ambition to win and mental strength also play a big role. You need to focus on your work all the time.”

Reto and Samuel met when they were put on the same SwissSkills team preparing for the Swiss national competition in 2022. They quickly established a strong working relationship. Samuel says, “We complement each other very well in our strengths. And since we get along so well privately, we also got along perfectly at work and understand each other instinctively.”

The two Competitors worked in different jobs by day, but in their free time they met at the training centre in Neuenkirch to practice as much as possible. As the Competition grew closer, their practice intensified. Samuel recalls, “We trained in stages, sometimes for a few days, sometimes for a whole week. We practiced the various tasks in specific training sessions. At the end, we were training in conditions just like the Competition.”

Luis Monti, Landscape Gardening Skills Competition Manager for WorldSkills, knows how intense and varied training has to be. He says, “On one hand, there’s the study of plants, soil types, pruning techniques, fertilization, and pest control. On the other, there’s the structural and design aspect. Such as learning to build small walls and installing efficient irrigation systems.”

Luis also knows how rewarding it is. This complex skill brings an incredible sense of satisfaction that drives young people to excel. “There’s no better feeling than finishing a garden that isn’t just beautiful but also functions well. For me, that’s the moment when professionals truly feel rewarded, because they see people’s lives transformed by a well-designed landscape project.”

Reto agrees, saying “This profession is incredibly diverse. You always work on different projects and with different materials. We also love to work outside and to craft with our hands.”

Training together in Switzerland, even competing in nationals, was nothing like a WorldSkills Competition though. In Lyon, Reto and Samuel found themselves working alongside talented teams from 19 countries, including Japan, Hungary, Finland, Brazil, and Canada.

The pair say they received a huge amount of support from their families, friends, and employers as well as their trainer, Pascal Flüeler. But during the Competition itself, they only had each other.

Under the pressure of the clock, they had to trust that all their practice would pay off. Samuel says, “We always had good time management and we never let ourselves be distracted. Our good teamwork was very important. Most importantly, we gave it our all.”

Reto recalls a moment during the Competition that tested their training. “We had a pond liner that was too small, yet we had already started building the wall over it. We had to dismantle the wall and change the pond liner. But we didn’t let ourselves be troubled by it, and in the end, it all worked out.”

Luis was impressed watching the pair turned their dedication and training into a gold-medal winning garden. He says, “What amazes me most is how, in such a short time, they were able to combine precision, creativity, and beauty. At this level, every detail matters, from an impeccably cut bed to the harmony of colours and the flawless fitting of each element in the design.”

But technical skill alone is not enough. “Landscape gardening involves many stages that must happen in a specific order,” says Luis. “So organization and punctuality is essential. Of course, unforeseen issues can arise in any project, so you also need to be flexible and respond quickly without compromising quality.”

He believes that the Competitors who reach the podium are those that show impressive time management, as well as undeniable passion for the field. He adds, “What always fascinates me most is their ability to stay calm under pressure.”

Watching WorldSkills Champions is the ultimate display of passion, commitment, courage and belief. Luis reflects, “I get very emotional at every Competition, especially at the end, as I remember when I competed back in 2007. I think of how it has changed my life and given me the tools to become the professional I am today.”

So what’s next for Reto and Samuel? For now they are back at their jobs and taking a well-earned break from practicing. As Samuel says, “Since we have had a lot of training now, we just want to work a bit normally. Later we both want to do further education and stay on in our jobs, but we are still open to what direction our paths will go.”

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