Herning, Denmark, Sept. 11, 2025 (Lusa) - On Thursday, Portugal enters the second day of competition at the European Professional Championships in the Danish city of Herning, trying to show that vocational training is necessary for the country's economic and social development.
Portugal is being represented at the 9th edition of EuroSkills by 15 young people, spread across 13 professional areas, who are competing against around 600 others, aged 17 to 25, from 33 countries.
"The government, the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) and other training bodies are on the path to valuing vocational training: ending the stigma that was once created, because these professions have a lot of future," the coordinator in Portugal for WorldSkills, which organises the championship, told Lusa on Thursday.
Gustavo Seia explained that the professions competing - hairdressing, industrial control, electrical installations, industrial mechatronics or robotics - are at "world championship level".
"Those who prepare the tests are professionals from industry or the professions that are here. They're not necessarily linked to WorldSkills, so they're based on what the labour market basically demands of workers who are going to work in these professions. They are very demanding tests. I'd say it's something that cuts across all professions," he said.
In the competition, which runs from Wednesday to Friday, the Portuguese team aims to demonstrate that it is necessary to "work with the labour market" so that remuneration corresponds to what is expected of young people.
"The number one objective is really to show the population that the path of professional training - vocational education - is worthwhile. It's a good way out and it's very necessary for economic and social development as a country," he said.
The 15 young people competing in the competition are part of the Portuguese delegation after having topped the rankings at the National Professions Championship in Santa Maria da Feira (Aveiro) in November last year.
They received training at the Professional Training Centre for the Metallurgical and Metalworking Industry (CENFIM), the Professional Training Centre for the Food Sector (CFPSA), the Professional School of the Office and Trade Union of the Autonomous Region of the Azores and the Professional Training Employment Centre (EPROSEC).
Industrial control technician Nelson Ribeiro, 20, who is assembling an electrical distribution board, said that "every day [that passes] is a little more tiring".
"Today I feel better. Yesterday [Wednesday] I was a bit more stressed, but today I'm feeling better," said the level 4 mechatronics technician, who is currently studying for his specialist level 5.
Adelino Santos, a specialist in industrial control, told Lusa that Nelson Ribeiro's work has to do with automating the operation of a machine in industry.
"For example, in the area of wine, bottle filling systems... Any company in the area of tyre construction, any company that has a machine to produce, that machine has to have an electrical part," he said.
Representing Portugal in mechatronics are Diogo Botelho and Simão Alves, aged 19 and 18 respectively, who said that the electrical automation competition "is going well".
"We're giving it our all. It's a unique experience," they said.
*** Lusa travelled at the invitation of the Institute for Employment and Professional Training *** JML/ADB // ADB.
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