A perfect partnership: How one Competitor and Expert are preparing for WorldSkills Lyon 2024

As every Competitor and Expert knows, success at a WorldSkills Competition requires care, precision, and great time management. Frida and Andreas are applying this same rigour to their pre-Lyon training schedule, walking through every scenario and talking through every detail.

Together they have designed a meticulous training schedule that will help Frida excel once she starts competing. The schedule includes skills tests and weekend bootcamps, with a large portion of the training seeing Frida complete previous WorldSkills Competition tasks within a set time limit.

Andreas uses his previous experience as an Expert at WorldSkills Sweden, EuroSkills, and WorldSkills Competition to replicate the tough and exacting conditions Frida will face in France. His hope is that it will not only give her greater confidence in completing the task on time, but it will help her handle any stress, and keep a level head if something goes wrong.

This intensive plan would be much harder, were it not for the strong partnership Frida and Andreas have developed. This is down to the many experiences they have shared since Frida joined the WorldSkills Sweden national team in Wall and Floor Tiling two years ago. Alongside their training, they have both been judges at the Swedish nationals in 2024 and have also found themselves flying to China together to take part in an international skills competition where they took second place.

And it is not their first time entering the Eurexpo Lyon arena as Expert and Competitor. Last September, after competing in EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023, they packed their bags and traveled to Lyon to participate as international delegates at the WorldSkills France nationals. This Competition was a significant learning experience as well as a great opportunity to familiarize Frida with the city and the venue.

Their training and competition schedule is all the more impressive when you consider that both Frida and Andreas work full-time jobs. Frida is a wall and floor tiler, and Andreas is a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) teacher.

Andreas has 15 years’ experience teaching, added to his 17 years hands-on knowledge as a wall and floor tiler and bricklayer. He is passionate about developing the next generation of skilled professionals and has been involved in competitions since 2013, in various roles such as lead judge, competition organizer, Expert, and Chief Expert. He is now the Expert Lead for Wall and Floor Tiling at WorldSkills Lyon 2024.

As for Frida, after her graduating from her TVET school she has built a reputation for success and, thanks to her medal wins, she has become an inspiring role model for a new generation of wall and floor tilers. She is now excited about the chance to represent her country this September at the 47th WorldSkills Competition and to use it as a platform to increase the reputation of skills in Sweden.

Frida is not fazed by the schedule she and Andreas have designed, nor is she a stranger to long hours of physical work. Before EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023, she worked out five times a week to get ready for 18 hours of competition and used her love of weight training and snowmobile driving to build her fitness.

Now, with just weeks to go until WorldSkills Lyon 2024, Frida and Andreas are looking forward to putting their months and years of planning in action. While Frida may be on her own in the arena, she will have Andreas’s knowledge, experience and advice with her every step of the way. The perfect partnership.

Read more about preparations for WorldSkills Lyon 2024.