For the third time, the Red Bull Ring at Spielberg was transformed into the finest playground in Austria as part of the Krone E-Mobility Play Days event on 28th and 29th September. And EuroSkills 2020, with its vocational “Try-a-Skill” project, was right there at the heart of it. Support for EuroSkills 2020 was also provided by our Supervisory Board Chairman Josef Herk, Styrian Minister of Economic Affairs Barbara Eibinger-Miedl, our heroes Birgit Haberschrick, Lisa Janisch and Manfred Zink, as well as Julian Fink (2019 WorldSkills bronze medallist in joinery and carpentry) and his WorldSkills Expert, Wolfgang Fank (2013 WorldSkills silver medallist in joinery and carpentry).

Curtain up on the vocational project “Try-a-Skill”: EuroSkills 2020 put its Try-a-Skill stations to the test for the first time at the E-Mobility Play Days. The project is aimed at school students, their parents and their teachers, who will not only be able to watch the top 600 young skilled workers from all over Europe at EuroSkills 2020, but will also discover one of Austria’s biggest careers events in the Messe Congress Graz exhibition centre. Visitors were given a foretaste of what to expect next September in Graz at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, where EuroSkills 2020 was present with a variety of Try-a-Skill stations.

For the Supervisory Board Chairman of EuroSkills 2020 GmbH, Josef Herk, “Try-a-Skill” is an ideal way to further the objectives of the dual education system: “The current apprenticeship figures are evidence of the increasing popularity of the dual education system. By the end of 2018, the number of apprentices in Austria stood at 107,915, an increase of 1.2 percent compared to the previous year. This clearly indicates that efforts being made in the economy – by EuroSkills or the Talent Center of the Styrian Economic Chamber, for example – are succeeding. The Try-a-Skill project is yet another measure aimed at inspiring more and more young people to consider various skills and trades and therefore also to pursue a dual education and training path.”

Styrian Minister of Economic Affairs Barbara Eibinger-Miedl emphasises the importance of Try-a-Skill for educational and careers guidance: “Styria is a region bursting with talent. Try-a-Skill provides young people with the opportunity to learn about a range of vocational occupations and to put their skills and abilities to the test. This gives careers guidance a special hands-on quality and helps our future skilled workers to gain valuable impetus for their further career.”

The vocational Try-a-Skill project is supported by the Austrian bank Erste Bank Sparkasse, which is on board as a main sponsor: “Being part of EuroSkills 2020 not only provides us with the opportunity to accompany and support young people during their career, but also demonstrates that passion and enthusiasm for one’s job are the key to success. EuroSkills 2020 will enhance Styria as a business location in a way that we are delighted to support”, says Oliver Kröpfl, board member of the Styrian bank Steiermärkische Sparkasse

A visit to EuroSkills 2020 from 16th to 20th September 2020 at the Messe Congress Graz exhibition centre may turn out to be the springboard to a successful career – and maybe even pave the way to becoming a WorldSkills or EuroSkills competitor. After all, that’s what it’s all about: discover your talent, identify your strengths and become your own hero!

Photos: EuroSkills 2020/Klaus Morgenstern.