WorldSkills Belgium, the Belgian association in charge of promoting technical and technological professions, presented the 'Belgian Red Bears' on Thursday at a castle in La Hulpe.
The Bears are 24 competitors under the age of 25 who will be representing Belgium at EuroSkills Gdansk in Poland from 6 to 8 September.
These talented youngsters, selected and trained specifically for this international skills competition, will be competing, alone or in teams, against their peers from 32 countries.
Some 40 trades will be the focus of this competition. Members of the Belgian team are entered in six categories: creative arts and fashion, information and communication technology, industry, construction, transport and logistics, and service.
For example, there will be a 25-year-old hairdresser from Etterbeek, a 19-year-old chef from Profondeville, a 20-year-old bricklayer from Limbourg, and a fashion technology student from Chaumont-Gistoux…
Like top sportsmen and women, the members of the Belgian Red Bears have been honing their skills under the guidance of experts in their professional sector and professional coaches. Not only have they worked on their technique, but they have also sharpened their mental skills to ensure they are ready to face any situation over the three days of competition.
The Belgian team will also be sending two tonnes of equipment to Gdansk - the toolkits of the competitors and of the 19 experts who will be coaching them. Three “team leaders” will also be accompanying the Bears, to work on group cohesion.
The Walloon ministers for Employment, Christie Moreale (PS), and the Economy, Willy Borsus (MR), attended the team presentation on Thursday. They stressed the need for excellence and skills in a Wallonia where more than 100 professions are considered to be in short supply.
The two ministers encouraged participants to be proud of their passion for their work and their desire to learn.
