Two competitions are to be held in the vocational skill category of Information and Communication Technology at EuroSkills 2020 from 6 to 10 January 2021 in Graz. We take a closer look at the skills and abilities needed to build a successful career in this field.

Hardly any discipline has undergone such rapid development over the past few years as Information and Communication Technology. New developments in the industry are influencing the way we work and are constantly bringing new ideas to the professional activities involved in Web Development and ICT. That’s why an interest in technology, enjoying working with computers and the ability to solve problems independently are basic requirements for both of these skills in order to lay the foundations for a successful career in this field. Education and training take different paths: specialised vocational schools like the Austrian Higher Technical Education Institute enable young people to acquire the relevant knowledge, while apprenticeships in specialist areas such as media or IT engineering also fulfil the requirements needed for individuals to represent their country at a EuroSkills or WorldSkills competition.

Web development: a career with excellent prospects

Web designers design their clients’ online presence: whether it’s creating websites, intranet, apps or newsgroups, working in web development is strongly driven by the client’s wishes and needs. Based on design requirements and mock-ups, the web designer aims to create a dynamic and functional website, which is then tested and optimised. And, following the current trend, web designers also incorporate social media in order to fully exploit the online marketing potential. A wide variety of career opportunities are open to web designers. Whether they are self-employed or work for agencies or web development companies, web designers are finding their skills increasingly in demand – and often in many different areas of application. It is possible to specialise in fields such as front-end or back-end development, developing content management systems or even customer and project management. At EuroSkills 2020, competitors in the Web Development skill are required to complete several tasks over the three days of the competition, for example developing a progressive web app. For an overview of this skill, please click here.

Network technology: an absolute must for companies

The skills of an ICT specialist are needed in just about every company. From small businesses to big multinationals, as well as public-sector organisations and private individuals – almost everybody needs the support of skilled IT experts every now and then. Their job is to ensure the smooth running of the entire IT operation, with tasks that include user support, troubleshooting, installation, maintenance and upgrading of operating systems and configuration of network devices. Anyone wishing to gain a foothold in this discipline needs be self-organised, have good communication and problem-solving skills and be prepared to undergo further training and stay up to date with the latest developments in the field. On the job market, network specialists have the opportunity to work alone or as part of a team, but one thing that’s always needed in this profession is a high degree of personal responsibility and independent working. Thanks to the ongoing process of digital transformation and the continuous march of technology, professionals are constantly facing new challenges and opportunities in their daily working lives. At EuroSkills 2020, the ICT Specialists category is a team competition in which two competitors from each country work together to solve complex problems over the three days of the competition. For an overview of this competition skill, please click here.

Support for Information and Communication Technology

The two companies Gebol and Cisco have stepped forward as sponsors in this skills category. The bronze sponsor Gebol is involved in almost all of the categories as it is supplying the necessary work and safety equipment  – and, for both Web Development and ICT Specialists, the first aid kits that need to be within reach in the competition areas. “As an Austrian company we are very proud that EuroSkills is being held in our country for the first time and that we are allowed to be involved in the event in Graz as a sponsor”, says Gerhard Frank, managing director and owner of Gebol Handelsgesellschaft m.b.H. “Protection and safety are top priorities for Gebol. And it is precisely these values that we wish to bring to this popular skills competition. We are convinced that, to accomplish great things, as well as being passionate about your job you also need to keep safety in mind. We are looking forward to supporting this international show of strength between these talented young people with high-quality, robust safety and protective equipment.”

The US company Cisco is well known as a world leader in IT and network solutions. The company was founded near San Francisco in 1984 by a group of scientists from Stanford University. Their common goal was to simplify the networking of computers in order to use them more effectively. At EuroSkills 2020, Cisco Austria will be supporting the ICT Specialists category by supplying necessary equipment such as routers or switches.

 

Photos Gallery: Marija Kanizaj.