Celebrating Champions at EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 Closing Ceremony
Almost 600 of the most talented young professionals from 32 countries were celebrated at the EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 Closing Ceremony on Saturday, 9 September, for their commitment to achieving the world-class standard of excellence in their skills.
EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023, with the theme #UnitedBySkills, has been an unprecedented event for Poland, bringing together the industrial, social, and education sectors for three days of action-packed competitions in 42 skills and professions.
The hard work of everyone involved was finally celebrated this evening, as delegates from all 32 WorldSkills Europe Member countries gathered together with the 576 Competitors, 572 Experts, dignitaries, and supporters at a spectacular Closing Ceremony where the EuroSkills Competition 2023 Official Results were revealed.
Jos de Goey Best in Europe Award
The most coveted accolade at EuroSkills – the Jos de Goey Best in Europe Award – is always the final honour to be presented at the Closing Ceremony, when emotions and excitement reach the highpoint.
The Best in Europe Award is named after the founder of WorldSkills Europe and the first President of the organisation. Jos de Goey passed away suddenly in 2020; as a way to honour his lifelong devotion to the WorldSkills movement, the Award was renamed in his memory. The Award is presented to the Competitor (or group of Competitors) who achieves the highest overall score out of all of the hundreds of Competitors across all 40+ competitions at EuroSkills.
The Jos de Goey Best in Europe Award 2023 was awarded to Tamas Bandur and Zsolt Koncsik of Hungary, who won Gold medals in the ICT Specialists (team skill) competition. The amber-adorned trophy was presented on stage by Jos de Goey’s wife, Anouschka de Goey.
Among the thousands of spectators who gathered for the Closing Ceremony at the Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk were Teija Ripattila, Chair of the Board of WorldSkills Europe, and Prof. Paweł Poszytek, WorldSkills Poland Official Delegate and General Director of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE).
Celebrating all young professionals
WorldSkills Europe Chair of the Board, Teija Ripattila, shared an impassioned message addressed to Competitors after the Award presentations concluded: “Each and every one of you can now call yourself a EuroSkills Champion – whether you are taking home a medal tonight or not, by competing here in Gdańsk this week you have shown the whole of Europe that you are the best of the best young professionals in your respective skills. And you can now use your EuroSkills experiences as a springboard to even greater professional success in the future. Be proud and know that United By Skills you are all changing the world for the better.”
Paweł Poszytek, WorldSkills Poland Official Delegate and General Director of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System, said: “Today is a special day. It's the moment when outstanding European youth are rewarded. Medals are meaningful, but the experience gained by you, as well as the friendships formed, are priceless. I am proud, moved, and delighted that we have been entrusted with the honour and immense challenge of organizing EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 in just fifteen months. I am convinced that we have executed the task well and that all the guests experienced Polish hospitality. I sincerely hope that you will carry beautiful memories back to your countries. Congratulations to all the competitors without exception. You are the future; you are the flower of the young generation. Your talent, dedication, and hard work have been noticed and appreciated. It is you who will make the world a better place.”
WorldSkills Europe Flag Handover
The EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 Closing Ceremony concluded with the passing of the WorldSkills Europe flag to the next EuroSkills host nation, Denmark, presenting EuroSkills Herning 2025. Amalie Druekær Rasmussen from the Danish national team had the honour of receiving the flag on stage.
Introducing EuroSkills Herning 2025
The Danish city of Herning will host the 9th edition of the EuroSkills Competition in 2025. The event is scheduled for 9-13 September 2025 at MCH Messecenter Herning, the largest exhibition centre in Scandinavia. For more information, visit: euroskills2025.com.
EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 Official Results
Official Results for all 42 skill competitions at EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 are available at: https://worldskillseurope.org/index.php/what-we-do/skills-competitions-euroskills-event/euroskills-results
EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 Official photos
Official photos from EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 are available to view and download from SmugMug at: https://worldskillseurope.smugmug.com.
WorldSkills Champions Trust at EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023
WorldSkills Champions Trust representatives for Europe Dan McCabe and João Teixeira joined EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 to support the young Competitors. Both former EuroSkills and WorldSkills Competitors, they had the opportunity to relive their experiences and the unforgettable memories they made.
During an impassioned speech at the Opening Ceremony, Dan told the audience that he had had the pleasure of being in their shoes, an experience that he said jump-started his career as a game developer, since he was headhunted by various companies after winning a gold medal, for Team UK (WorldSkills UK) at EuroSkills Gothenburg 2016.
“I then went to WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. And it turns out I was not the best in the world. It was a very humbling experience and life changing in a very different way. It took me until long after I finished competing to really see what the most valuable part of the event was. It was the experience,” said Dan. “If you only focus on winning, I’m afraid you may miss the point of this whole event. We are promoting excellence, your excellence, showing that skills keep our world moving and you, you are the people with those skills.”
During the official Press Conference on 6 September, João spoke about the impact of representing Team Portugal (WorldSkills Portugal) at EuroSkills Graz 2021 and WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition. Not only did it help his technical skills grow, he said, but it also made him more disciplined and committed to excellence.
As he is currently furthering his studies to become a Mechanical Engineer, João is now an instructor and a trainer for future WorldSkills Competitors, something that he says, “is a very fulfilling mission at this point in my life.”
Over the five days of the event, Dan and João took part in multiple media and promotional events to help raise awareness of the transforming power of skills development.
EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 was the eighth edition of the biennial EuroSkills Competition – the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in Europe.
The event took place over five days, beginning with an Opening Ceremony on 5 September, followed by three days of action-packed competitions in 42 skills, and concluding with this evening’s Closing Ceremony, where awards including gold, silver, and bronze medals were presented to the highest scoring Competitors.
EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 also brought together leaders from industry, education, and government to share best practices and learn about global trends and issues found in TVET, skills demand, skills of the future, as well as skills excellence and development. These themes were discussed during the VI International Congress on Education and Training, which took place on 7 September as an accompanying event of the Competition.
EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 was organised in partnership by Poland’s Foundation For The Development Of The Education System (FRSE), WorldSkills Poland, WorldSkills Europe, the City of Gdańsk and AmberExpo Gdańsk.