This years WorldSkills competition, held in Calgary, Canada on 2-5 September 2009, was a very successful one for EU countries and for individual European competitors. Austrian competitors won four gold medals; British and French competitors won 3 each, while Finnish and German participants won two gold medals in their categories.
Europe is now well placed to host the next two WorldSkills competitions, to be held in London in 2011 and Leipzig in 2013.
The WorldSkills Competition showcases excellence in the skilled trades and in technological training. Every two years, the event gathers hundreds of young competitors (17-22 years of age) from the 50 participating countries. The competition sets world class standards in over 40 skill categories ranging from welding to cooking, auto body repair to landscape gardening, plumbing to web design.