EuroSkills 2020, to be held in Graz in January 2021, will offer the opportunity to explore around 45 different trades and skills, of which a sizeable 15 fall under the “Construction and Building Technology” category. It is on these skills and trades that this blog article will focus.

There are many different work stages between the initial concept for a house and its completion, and this process also inevitably involves different skills and trades. The Construction and Building Technology skills category brings together virtually all the skills and trades needed to successfully get a building project up and running. All relevant areas of expertise in the building industry are covered by this category, from soil mechanics and foundation engineering to building and site development, and from construction to completion and building maintenance. The category comprises 15 skills and trades such as Wall and Floor Tiling, Plumbing and Heating, Bricklaying and Landscape Gardening (see here for more details about the individual skills and trades). This category will include a demonstration skill for the first time, namely Glass Construction Technology. Glass construction technicians carry out re-glazing projects as well as maintenance and repair of existing glazing. They also operate glass-cutting machines and make blueprints for new workpieces.

The “tool” for success

What do all of these skills have in common? To make a successful career in any of these skills or trades requires craftsmanship. A keen interest in all aspects of the job is, of course, also needed. And creativity, dexterity and precision also play an essential role in many of these occupations. The traditional image of a bricklayer or painter and decorator has become rather outdated, with many of these jobs having likewise changed over the past few decades to keep step with technological progress. It is therefore worth exploring one of the Try-a-Skill stations at EuroSkills 2020 between 6 and 10 January 2021 at the Messe Congress Graz exhibition centre, to find out more about your dream job. And there will also be an opportunity before EuroSkills 2020 to get a closer view of the young, skilled workers in action as they compete. AustrianSkills 2020 will be held from 19 to 22 November 2020 at the “Salzburg Messezentrum” exhibition centre, where around 40 different skills and trades and 400 competitors will be showcased. And, best of all, admission to the event will be completely free of charge.

Strong support for the Skills Showdown 

To make a contest like EuroSkills 2020 happen, the 650 or so competitors who are expected to attend will require large quantities of working materials and tools, such as sufficient bricks for the bricklaying competition or suitable workbenches for the carpenters and joiners to use. This is where the EuroSkills 2020 sponsors come in: they support the various skills and trades by supplying the necessary materials, thus ensuring that the competitions can even take place at all. The Austrian energy provider Energie Steiermark is one of the biggest supporters in the Construction and Building Technology category. The company fervently prioritises the training of young, skilled workers within its own organisation: “We are constantly on the look-out for dedicated young people who want to join us to help shape the green world of tomorrow. As a state-approved training company, we offer top-quality, in-house apprenticeship training. This is how our apprentices become professionals in their fields”, explain board spokesman Christian Purrer and board director Martin Graf.

As a diamond sponsor, the wholesaler Würth is also a highly prominent supporter of this skill category at EuroSkills 2020: “As a partner of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Würth Austria has been supplying competitors at WorldSkills und EuroSkills with high-quality, professional tools to use during their preparations for the competitions for over 10 years now”, says managing director Willi Trumler. “With the European Skills Championships being held in Austria for the first time in 2020, it is particularly important for us to lend our support as a sponsor.”

The two “electrical experts”, Hager and Sonepar, are also both involved as gold sponsors in this vocational skills category, as Robert Marzy from Hager explains: “As manufacturers of innovative electrical products and solutions, we think it’s important to promote young people and their ongoing training and to sponsor national and international competitions.” Even at AustrianSkills 2018 the two companies were determined to support EuroSkills 2020 in Graz as sponsors, as Bernhard Weber confirmed in an interview with EuroSkills TV: “We are supporting EuroSkills 2020 in Graz because it’s our prospective customers that will be taking part.”

Another company to have joined the ranks of EuroSkills 2020 sponsors is SIEMENS Austria: “Our strong educational partnership with EuroSkills will increase the sustainable quality of vocational education in Europe”, said Gerhard Zummer, Head of Professional Education. “Our apprentices are constantly proving that they are fit for the future – and at EuroSkills, we work together to inspire young people to follow an apprenticeship.”

The companies Bohle and Stabila are also on board as silver sponsors for this vocational skills category. Bohle is primarily supporting the Glass Construction Technology skill by supplying the required materials and tools, while Stabila is providing competitors with professional measuring instruments. The Austrian Federal Guild of Construction and the companies Doka, Felder, Festool and Granit are represented as bronze sponsors, and a number of suppliers are also helping to make the European Skills Championships a success. These are: Air Liquide, C. Bergmann, Dustcontrol, Füldner, Geberit, Holzmann Maschinen, J. Wagner GmbH, FISCH-Tools, Murexin, Synthesa, Prefa, Saint-Gobain, Wienerberger and the Austrian brickmakers’ association, Zieglerverband.

EuroSkills 2020 would like to thank all these companies once again for their invaluable contribution to supporting young, skilled workers. We are Skills!

Photos: Marija Kanizaj.