WorldSkills are regular international events designed to promote trade skills, commonly referred to as the ‘skills Olympics’.

On May 28th, the laboratories of Grupa Azoty S.A. Research and Development Centre hosted the final round of the WorldSkills Poland 2021 National Qualifying Competition in the Chemistry Laboratory Technician skill. The main organiser was WorldSkills Poland in cooperation with Grupa Azoty S.A. (Partner). The event was held under the honorary patronage of the Minister of Education and Science and the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology.

Six competitors from all around Poland qualified to the local finals. The finals included practical laboratory tasks divided into four modules, as well as interviews in Polish and English. A six-person judging panel was appointed to ensure proper conduct of the competition, headed by a representative of Grupa Azoty S.A.’s Corporate Strategy and Innovation Department Jadwiga Konarska, head judge and WorldSkills Poland expert.

During the event, a ‘Personnel of the Future’ debate was held, involving representatives of business and science: Director General of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System and Official Delegate of WorldSkills Poland dr Paweł Poszytek, Vice President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty S.A. dr Grzegorz Kądzielawski, Coordinator of chemistry competitions for primary and secondary schools dr inż. Anna Kuźniar of Rzeszów University of Technology, Director of the Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials dr inż. Paweł Pichniarczyk, and local government official Jarosław Jurzak.

The competition was closed with a medal award ceremony held at the pilot-plant hall of Grupa Azoty’s R&D Centre, during which the winner received a token ticket to Shanghai.

‘I am glad to be able to participate in today’s event,’ said Minister of Development, Labour and Technology, Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Gowin. ‘The WorldSkills Poland 2021 national competition is another step in promoting vocational education and a great opportunity for students to develop practical skills needed to thrive at work and in life. For many, this will be the first opportunity to test their skills in an environment similar to their future workplace. I regard the project very highly for the important role it plays in creating synergies between the worlds of business, science and academy,’ Mr Gowin added.

‘The WorldSkills Poland competition in Tarnów is a first step in building a team that will have the honour of representing Poland at WorldSkills Shanghai 2022. Five qualifying competitions in ‘skills of the future’ will be held in Lublin on June 2nd, with the first-ever edition of SkillsPoland to be held in as many as 12 categories in November,’ explained dr Paweł Poszytek, Director General of the Foundation for the Development of the Education System and Official Delegate of WorldSkills Poland.

‘At Grupa Azoty, we have been pursuing a long-term strategy to support vocational education through internships, patronage classes, and ambassador programmes. The WorldSkills Poland competition in the chemical lab technician category held in Tarnów today is another milestone of our commitment to building human resources of the future and promoting Polish training ideas on the international arena,’ added President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty S.A. Tomasz Hinc

‘Our collaboration with WordSkills Poland demonstrates that Grupa Azoty is actively working to promote high-quality world-class vocational education. We consider such projects an investment in the future since a large number of vocational school graduates and participants of the competitions that we partner later join Grupa Azoty as its employees,’ noted Vice President of the Management Board of Grupa Azoty S.A. dr Grzegorz Kądzielawski. WorldSkills is the world’s largest professional skills competition, held by a global organisation promoting professional skills excellence. The competitions are accompanied by various presentations, demonstrations, exhibitions, conferences and industry seminars. The WorldSkills competition is held every two years alternately with the EuroSkills event (its European equivalent). They bring together the top young talent across various trades. EuroSkills and WorldSkills events are grouped into six industry sectors, and contestants compete for three or four days, respectively, in more than 60 skills competitions. The project builds a global skills platform, thereby having a significant impact on the industry and services sectors, governments’ focus on vocational education, as well as numerous educational initiatives.