EuroSkills 2023 in Gdansk Swiss team makes history with 15 medals

EuroSkills is the biggest event for vocational education and skills in Europe. EuroSkills 2023 in Gdansk was the eighth edition of the European vocational championships. Around 600 young vocational champions from 32 countries competed for victory over three days of competition. Our 17-member SwissSkills national team participated in no fewer than 16 different competitions.

As a long-standing presenting partner of SwissSkills, we are extremely proud of this outstanding achievement.

The SwissSkills national team has established Switzerland as one of the leading nations in recent years. At the last European championships, the team achieved the best Swiss result to date with 14 medals. The expectations for this year’s team were therefore high and thanks to a new medal record, they were even surpassed. Nothing was left to chance in the run-up to the competition, with each team member investing an average of 1,000 hours in preparation and training.

Technical delegate Martin Erlacher was also impressed by the performance of the Swiss team: „This result by the entire SwissSkills national team massively exceeded our expectations. Even in our wildest dreams we never expected this many (gold) medals.”

It is particularly gratifying that Switzerland is the most successful nation in several respects – no other country has come close to winning so many European championship titles, with the Swiss delegation taking home 12 gold medals. Austria and France came second and third, with seven and five EM titles respectively.  

At the award ceremony and closing celebration on 9 September 2023, there were many reasons for the young SwissSkills national team to celebrate. The SwissSkills highlights video summarizes the celebrations.

Naturally, the extraordinary performance of the Swiss team had to be celebrated, and immediately after landing in Zurich, the entire SwissSkills national team was welcomed to the Stadthalle in Kloten, where they were greeted with euphoric applause by fans, family and friends.

The results once again underline the outstanding quality of the Swiss vocational education and training system in comparison with others around the globe. Participation and success in international competitions such as EuroSkills are not only a testament to the high standards of Swiss vocational training, but also an opportunity to showcase the skills of young people from Switzerland in a global context.

But what is the recipe for success? „With the competitors, the experts, our team leaders and the whole delegation, we managed to start a family and grow together. Everyone supported each other and the outstanding results are the product of this,” says Martin Erlacher.

As a proud presenting partner of SwissSkills, we would like to thank all our participants from the bottom of our hearts for their excellent performance. Our commitment extends to supporting the professional national team in their intensive preparation for international competitions such as EuroSkills and WorldSkills. As the exclusive partner of the SwissSkills national team, we are fully committed to promoting young professional talent.

In doing so, we are helping to sustainably strengthen and represent the competitiveness of the Swiss education system both at home and abroad. The outstanding achievements of our team underline once again that teamwork can work wonders!