Switzerland hosts SwissSkills Championships 2020

For young Competitor Jasmin Wüthrich, it was an “Oscar-worthy” experience, and one that set her on the road to WorldSkills Shanghai 2021 as the SwissSkills Competitor for Floristry.

Despite having to postpone the national SwissSkills 2020, hundreds of talented young people still had their chance to earn a position on the Swiss Team that will compete at the 46th WorldSkills Competition in China next year.

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing Switzerland to cancel the 2020 SwissSkills Nationals in Bern, team selection for Shanghai was switched to 29 professional associations and 60 different skills.

The Championships began in September and will conclude in October and November. The Floristry finals were held at Wangen, a lakeside town near Zurich.

The winners so far include Jasmin, crowned Floristry Champion who reveals, “Participating at the SwissSkills Championships is a unique experience that has inspired me for my future.” 

Reto Wyss, Chairman of the Foundation Board and National Councillor, agrees and adds, “It's great to see the passion with which the participants of the SwissSkills Championships fight for the medals. They reveal, despite the difficult conditions this year, what outstanding professionals the Swiss vocational education and training system produces year after year.”

The SwissSkills Championships are normally a hands-on opportunity to share the potential of vocational education and skills training with thousands of other young people.

Doing so in a mass event will have to wait until 2022, but the message is still being spread, with schools offered digital classes that connect pupils with other young people with experience in a diverse range of skilled occupations and professions. After the first successful implementation of SwissSkills Connect, the online service will be continuously developed and integrated into the strategy in order to give everyone the chance to learn about the vocational education in Switzerland. 

For more information visit the SwissSkills website.