Promising young people competed in vocational and technical skills in Denmark

The Danish National Skills Competition took place in Høng, Denmark, from April 28-30. The competition is held by Verkiðn's sister organization, Skills Denmark, and enjoys generous support from the government and the business community. Around 300 young people competed in numerous trades and vocational skills in the hope of qualifying for EuroSkills, which will be held in Poland next year. By qualifying for EuroSkills, the young people get the opportunity to strengthen and test their skills in an international context and expand their networks.

55 winners were selected in 49 skills at the Danish national competition. In some skills, the results marked a milestone: Kenny Bech Bruum won for the third year in a row in tiling, and nineteen-year-old Gry Astrup won for the second year in a row in bricklaying. Last year, she became the first woman to win the title. Gry has said that the national competition was a direct factor in her choosing to become a professional bricklayer.

The purpose of national competitions in trades and vocational skills is to promote professionalism in the fields nationwide and to introduce the studies in these fields to primary and lower secondary school students. Students and other visitors get the opportunity to talk to young people in vocational training and try their hand at various fun tasks related to the skills. This year, Danish visitors got to, among other things, build their own small skateboards, sew upholstery on an armchair, try making flower and cake decorations, and other fun activities.

Sustainability in focus at upcoming competitions

The Skills organizations in the Nordic countries are in a strong and active collaboration with the Icelandic association, Verkiðn. The collaboration provides knowledge about the latest developments in professionalism in trades and vocational training in the world. The importance of such collaboration for a small island nation needs no further explanation. The Danes will host the next EuroSkills competition in 2025 and want to implement a sustainability mindset in all tasks across all skills at the competition. Verkiðn in Iceland will closely monitor developments and explore various ways to implement this same mindset in the execution of the Icelandic National Skills Competition next year, from March 16-18 in Laugardalshöll 2023.