RELEASE: World championship in professional skills will take place in Helsinki in October

The competition decides the world champion for around 50 different skills in a range of vocational education sectors. This year, the World Championships will be organised in a decentralised manner in different countries. Finland organises four competitions: Floristry, Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy and Fashion Technology. The event brings together about 200 competitors and judges from 32 countries around the world.

It is unique for Finland to be able to organise this major event. This is made possible by a decentralised model, which was introduced when the major event originally planned for Shanghai in China was cancelled due to coronavirus. Finland alone would not have the capacity to organise the championship if all competitions and competitors were to be under one roof, as the number of both competitions and participants has increased so much. The total number of competitions is 62, with over 1,000 competitors from 58 countries. The championships will now be held in around 15 countries around the world during the autumn of 2022, of which the main responsibility has been taken by Finland, Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland and South Korea.

Until spring 2022, it seemed that the competition could be arranged in Shanghai. When it became clear that it would not be possible, disbelief and disappointment set in: "’Is this it?’ This is a good description of what the competitors were thinking at that point.” Maria Ekroth, CEO of Skills Finland, explains how it was precisely the competitors and their hard work that provided an incentive to start organising competitions in Finland on a very fast schedule.

"We immediately thought that we wanted to be part of the solution and ensure that competitors could compete at international level in one way or another. That is why we enthusiastically took the opportunity to start organising some of the competitions in Finland. We started from scratch without funding or anything.“ Numerous VET providers also strongly involved in organising the competitions.

"We are really excited that we have the honour of organising competitions in Helsinki. We expect a lot of international competition audiences and students from educational institutions to come and see what the work in these fields is like and how impressive the top professionals are with their expertise,” says Ekroth.

Three young  top professionals from Finland will participate in the competitions: Veera Huomo (Beauty Therapy), Jenna Maukonen (Fashion Technology) and Kiia Ylönen (Floristry). For them, vocational training is a real career choice, not a secondary option. For the competitors, professional development is an important and essential reason to participate. The WorldSkills competition is a great opportunity to get out of the comfort zone and challenge your competence. In addition to these three competitors, Team Finland includes 25 other competitors competing in other countries. In most of the skills categories, the competitors must be aged under 23 during the competition year.

Come watch the competition at Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, hall 4. Journalists are also welcome to attend the event opening and closing ceremonies (more information from Suvi Aalto, contact details below).

The part of the WorldSkills competition to be organised in Finland is coordinated by Skills Finland, which represents Finland in the international WorldSkills International organisation. The project is funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture and other sponsors. Many VET providers are also involved in organising the competitions.

More information

Suvi Aalto
Media Specialist, WSC2022SE Helsinki
+358 40 342 4745
suvi.aalto@skillsfinland.fi