EuroSkills 2020, to be held from 16 to 20 September 2020, will mark Austria’s debut as host nation for the event. Around 600 competitors from a total of 30 member countries will be going for gold – including, for the first time in EuroSkills history, in the skill of Retail Sales.

In September 2020, the European vocational skills championships EuroSkills will transform the Austrian city of Graz into a hot spot for young, skilled workers. Around 600 competitors will be arriving in the capital of the Austrian Province of Styria to showcase their expertise during a three-day skills competition, which will occupy the entire showground of the Messe Congress Graz exhibition centre. Alongside skills such as bricklaying, beauty therapy or restaurant service, the category of “vending” will also be on show before the audience for the first time next year.  Vending (or “Retail Sales”) has made its way into the list of EuroSkills trades and skills – and this is partly due to the great success of the first national championships that took place at AustrianSkills 2018 in Salzburg, where Florian Hiebl emerged as the winner. Florian will now represent Austria in this skill category at EuroSkills 2020.

Hiebl and the other young sales experts will have to master a professional sales presentation – and they have to do it in English, too. Just like at work in the real world, the competition requires them to provide the “customer” with the best possible advice, to address the customers’ wishes and concerns and to present the products appropriately. Particular attention will be paid to the vendors’ appearance, how they present their merchandise, and other details such as eye contact, welcome, cross-selling and how they close the sale. While the competitors are busy dealing with their customers’ requirements on the stage, an expert jury will analyse the entire performance in detail over the three competition days and score it accordingly.

If all of this makes you want to try this skill out for yourself, in September 2020 you’ll have the chance to do just that. The “Try-a-Skill” stations will give young people the opportunity to have a go themselves and see what it feels like to work in sales. These Try-a-Skill stations will not be just for the Retail Sales category, but also for many more skills and trades. The aim is to enable school students to discover their own talents, strengths and abilities and to assist them with their career decisions. After all, EuroSkills 2020 is more than just the European skills championships. It will also be one of Austria’s biggest careers information events next year. It aims not only to present a broad range of exciting skills and trades to young people, their parents and teachers, but also to offer them opportunities for networking with a view to securing training positions or job interviews, and to find out what the dual education system has to offer them. After all, the theme of the event is “Try a skill, discover your talent and become a hero”.