Official signing ceremony marks start of planning for EuroSkills Düsseldorf 2027

An official Organisational Agreement has been signed by WorldSkills Europe, WorldSkills Germany and WorldSkills Luxembourg for the hosting of the tenth edition of the EuroSkills Competition, which will be staged in Düsseldorf in 2027.

The signing ceremony, which was held at special reception at EuroSkills Gdańsk 2023 on Friday, 8 September, was attended by Peter Thiele, Head of Division Continuing Vocational Training, European Vocational Education and Training Area, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Dr. Jens Stuhldreier, Head of Division in the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Luc Weis, head of the innovation and research department at the ministry of Education, Children and Youth in Luxembourg, Hubert Romer, Official Delegate and CEO of WorldSkills Germany, Michael Hafner, President of WorldSkills Germany, Luc Belling, Official Delegate of WorldSkills Luxembourg, Gil Belling, President of WorldSkills Luxembourg, Teija Ripattila, Chair of the Board of WorldSkills Europe, and Laurence Gates, CEO of WorldSkills Europe.

Düsseldorf was confirmed as host city of the tenth EuroSkills Competition following a unanimous vote in favour of the first ever joint bid by two countries ­– Germany and Luxembourg – to host a EuroSkills Competition. The historic moment that the result of the vote was announced in 2022 was met with rapturous applause and cheers by WorldSkills Europe Members.

Teija Ripattila, Chair of the Board of WorldSkills Europe, said: “Germany and Luxembourg’s milestone partnership to host EuroSkills Düsseldorf 2027 will benefit the WorldSkills movement hugely. It sends such a positive message about the importance of transnational collaboration and how, by working more closely together, we can achieve even greater levels of skills excellence and development in Europe and beyond.”

For Gil Belling, President of WorldSkills Luxembourg, and Michael Hafner, President of WorldSkills Germany, the signing of the official Organisational Agreement represents a major milestone. Both are now looking forward to the upcoming preparation phase for EuroSkills 2027.

Earlier this week, Luxembourg was also chosen as host of the WorldSkills Europe General Assembly 2024, following a unanimous vote by Members in favour of their bid.

"I am very pleased that Germany will host the EuroSkills Competition in 2027. The decision reflects the high reputation of the German vocational education and training system and the organisational strength of our stakeholders”, emphasised Peter Thiele, Head of Division Continuing Vocational Training, European Vocational Education and Training Area, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

“The joint implementation with Luxembourg underscores the European vision and the aspiration for a unified European education area. EuroSkills 2027 in Düsseldorf will serve as a prominent showcase of vocational education and training across Europe, while also providing an exciting international youth event. For Germany, EuroSkills 2027 is the right stage to underline the excellence and value of our vocational education and training, offering young people a valuable first-hand experience in career orientation. We have therefore been a non-material and financial supporter of international skill competitions and EuroSkills 2027 with full conviction for years," added Minister Thiele.

The importance of EuroSkills 2027 is also underlined by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), which will support the competitions with a total of 5 million euros, "Securing skilled labour is one of the major challenges of the coming years," said Dr. Jens Stuhldreier, Head of Division in the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia. "In view of the major societal challenges posed by demographic change - combined with the green and digital transformation - the North Rhine-Westphalian state government has developed a joint action plan with the NRW Skilled Workers Offensive in order to more strongly bundle and effectively interlink activities and measures to sustainably secure skilled workers. In this context, we expect EuroSkills 2027 to boost the attractiveness of vocational education and training and especially of the dual training system."

Luc Weis, head of the innovation and research department at the ministry of Education, Children and Youth, emphasised that it is a unique opportunity for Luxembourg to organize sustainable EuroSkills together with our partners from Germany: “It is important to us to bring nations together so that we can learn from each other; this will contribute to the continuous development of our educational and VET systems. EuroSkills 2027 will hopefully have a lasting impact long after the competitions ended in Düsseldorf. In the run-up to EuroSkills 2027, young people from all over Europe come together in Luxembourg to compete in peaceful competition. As part of the supporting program of the competitions in 2027, an international youth camp will take place in Luxembourg, which will also strengthen friendship and exchange among European youth. Finally, we are confident that our contribution will continue to have a lasting impact beyond 2027, both on our educational and VET systems as well as on the WorldSkills movement."

EuroSkills Düsseldorf 2027 is supported and endorsed by a number of key partners, including the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia’s Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs and the State’s Ministry of Economics, Innovation, Digitization and Energy, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, the City of Düsseldorf, and Messe Düsseldorf.

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is a major international business and financial centre with a broad mix of industries.

EuroSkills Düsseldorf 2027, which is proposed for September 2027, will be held at the Messe Düsseldorf.