Skills Glossary

Skills competitions and activities include a lot of different events, titles and concepts. In this glossary, we have compiled the most common terms used in competitions.

Use the links below to navigate to the correct section of the glossary.

Different Skills Competitons
Organisations Related to Competitions
Consepts of the Taitaja Competition
Consepts of EuroSkills- ja WorldSkills

Different Skills Competitions

Skills Competitions are events where participants compete against the clock to demonstrate their professional skills. There are several tasks that are evaluated. The competitions are public, and the audience is able to watch competitors’ performances. Skills competitions involve competing in different categories, which represent sectors of vocational education and training. Categories include, for example, Hairdressing, Welding and Electrical Installations.

Taitaja
The Finnish national championship for professional skills and Finland’s largest vocational education and training event. Competitors advance to the finals via semi-finals. Organised in a different locality every year. Skills Finland grants the right to organise the event. The organiser is often the provider of vocational education and training in the locality or region.

TaitajaPLUS
In addition to other categories, TaitajaPLUS categories meant for students in need of special assistance are organised as part of the Taitaja competition.

Taitaja9
A competition for upper secondary school pupils that tests their cleverness and dexterity and in which pupils compete in teams of three. Consists of a regional, local and final competition.

EuroSkills
The European Championship for professional skills, which is organised in odd years. An official national skills team sent by Skills Finland and its partners represents Finland in the competition.

WorldSkills
The World Championship for professional skills, which is organised in even years. An official national skills team sent by Skills Finland and its partners represents Finland in the competition.

International Abilympics
An international skills competition for students in need of special assistance. Organised every four years. An official national skills team sent by Skills Finland and its partners represents Finland in the competition.

Organisations

Skills Finland ry
A non-profit association striving to promote the attractiveness of vocational education and training. Grants the right to organise the Taitaja competition and to send a national skills team to international competitions. An active member of the international organisations WorldSkills International, WorldSkills Europe and International Abilympic Federation.

WorldSkills Europe (WSE)
A European organisation that promotes the attractiveness of vocational training in Europe. There are approximately 30 member countries. Grants the right to organise the EuroSkills competition, which is organised every other year.

WorldSkills Europe (WSI)
A world-wide organisation that promotes the attractiveness of vocational training globally. Approximately 80 member countries. Grants the right to organise the WorldSkills competition, which is organised every other year.

International Abilympic Federation (IAF)
A global association that promotes the employment and skills of those in need of special assistance or with disabilities. Grants the right to organise the International Abilympics competition, which is organised once every four years..

Taitaja

Skill Demonstration
An exhibition area similar to a skill category, where no medals are awarded. Skill Demonstrations often showcase industries or future professions that are important to the region.

Auditor
The organisation and running of the Taitaja event are audited, which means that they are evaluated in terms of quality. The auditing process is led and planned by a main auditor appointed by Skills Finland, who is assisted by auditors appointed by Taitaja organisers.

Competition Information System (CIS)
A scoring system used in the Taitaja, EuroSkills and WorldSkills competitions. The first version of CIS was prepared for the WorldSkills Helsinki 2005 competition.

Team Leader
When signing up competitors, education and training providers will appoint a Team Leader for their school’s participants. The Team Leader acts as a point of contact between the Taitaja organisation, the competitors and competition attendants.

Jury
Skills Finland appoints a jury for each Taitaja competition. The jury exercises the highest decision-making power and resolves objections submitted to the competition organiser. The jury members are officials from previous and future Taitaja competitions. The group also includes a representative of the Finnish National Agency for Education.

President of the Jury
The President of the Jury is the head judge of the Taitaja competition, appointed by Skills Finland. They are responsible for the correctness of judging during the Taitaja competition’s semi-finals and finals.

Competition Attendant
The educational institution appoints a Competition Attendant for each of its competitors. They will act as the competitor’s attendant during the competition, and they have the right to act as the competitor's representative if necessary. One Competition Attendant can be responsible for several competitors.

Skill Steering Group
A group assisting the Skill Competition Managers, which consists of, for example, teachers and experts in an industry. Members of the skill steering group often design competition tasks and act as judges during the competition.

Skill Competition Manager
Person responsible for organising a skill category. During the final, the Skill Competition Manager is responsible for the category’s technical and practical arrangements as well as producing the competition’s tasks and evaluations. Together with the category’s main judge, they are responsible for instructing the jury. The Skill Competiton Manager, together with the main judge, is responsible for a skill category’s activities during the competition.

Main Judge
Skills Finland appoints a main judge for each skill category. They must have prior experience with the Taitaja competition as a competitor or a judge and, if possible, been involved in international competitions. A skill category’s main judge instructs judges, guides the semi-final competition together with the semi-final coordinator and leads the skill category's final.

Semi-final Organiser
The school that organises the skill category’s semi-final. Skills Finland will look for semi-final organisers in the year preceding the competition.

Semi-final Coordinator
Coordinates the organisation of semi-finals for each skill category together with the Skill Competition Manager and the main judge. The semi-final coordinator of the skill category works in close cooperation with semi-final managers from different locations. The semi-final coordinator of the skill category compiles and reports on the semi-final results of all localities to the competition attendants, the Taitaja organiser and Skills Finland.

Semi-final Manager
The practical arrangements for the semi-final are handled by a local semi-final manager, who plans the arrangements with the semi-final coordinator.

Judge
The person assessing the competitors’ performances. Often a vocational teacher or a representative from working life. Judges must be professionally experienced, competent and recognised professionals in their field. The jury of each skill category also includes a main judge appointed by Skills Finland, who instructs the jury together with Skill Category Manager.

EuroSkills ja WorldSkills

The Finnish equivalent of the English term and any abbreviation used in international contexts.

Expert (E)
A person appointed by Skills Finland who serves as a judge and skill category specialist in an international competition. An expert is appointed for a specific competition and for a time period of about one year. The expert’s background can be in an educational institution or a business in the industry.

Skill Trainer (Valmentaja)
Competitors train for international competitions with a trainer. Trainers are usually teachers or other industry professionals.

Team Leader (TL)
The Finnish national skill team has 2-3 team leaders who organise the national team's camps with Skills Finland. They also assist and support competitors during competition trips.

Skill Manager (Lajipäällikkö)
Person appointed by Skills Finland who coordinates the skill category's international activities in Finland. For example, they organise the skill category’s qualifying rounds for international competitions. Skill Managers are selected once every three years. The Skill Manager's background can be in an educational institution or a business in the industry.

Chief Expert (CE)
Each skill category’s experts select a Chief Expert and a Deputy Chief Expert among themselves. The Chief Expert is responsible for organising the skill category and for managing the competition’s technical aspects according to the rules of the competition. The Deputy Chief Expert assists the Chief Expert of the category.

Skill Advisor
The Skill Advisor assists the Chief and Deputy Chief Experts as well as the Skill Competition Manager in preparing the evaluation of the skill category’s competition.

Skill Competition Manager (SCM)
The Skill Competition Manager works together with the Chief and deputy Chief Expert and manages the skill category's arrangements.

Background Party
For example, a competitor’s or expert's background school or company that is responsible for the actor's costs related to the competition.

Technical Delegate (TD)
The Technical Delegate appointed by Skills Finland represents Finland in the Competition Committee. The technical delegate acts as a supervisor for the experts, and they are responsible for providing information and technical documentation (such as competition rules) to experts and competitors.

Coaching Team
The coaching team is a competitor's support group during training. The aim is to attract several people from different educational institutions to the coaching team, which would give the competitor access to as many learning opportunities as possible before the competition and would widely spread the benefits of competing to several educational institutions. In addition to the competitor, the coaching team can include people like a Skill Category Manager, an expert, a coach and a substitute competitor.

Official Delegate (OD)
The official delegate appointed by Skills Finland acts as Finland's official representative at WSI or WSE meetings.