Herning, Denmark, Sept. 12, 2025 (Lusa) - At Scandinavia's largest exhibition centre, 15 young Portuguese people with professional training are striving for excellence and entry into the demanding job market, showing that it is worth investing in their skills.

The young people, spread across 15 pavilions, are representing Portugal in the 9th edition of the European Professional Championships (EuroSkills), which has been taking place since Tuesday at the MCH Messecenter in Herning, on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark.

"When I wanted to go to secondary school, I already had in mind the idea of taking the professional course in technical drawing, it was always something I had more or less in mind," Beatriz Martins, 18, told Lusa after completing a reverse engineering test.

The young woman, who is graduating in Mechanical Engineering, explained that she uses Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software to develop her work.

"From here, we can do the whole part of creating the 3D modelling project. We can create structures, welds, sheet metal... Everything we imagined we can create in this type of project, just by giving it dimensions," she pointed out.

Participating in EuroSkills for the first time, Beatriz Martins recalled that her brother had already competed in the event, but in another area of training, noting that she had always had a"’knack for technical drawing."

"The fact that I was able to enter this type of competition meant that I could really do what I really like," she said, acknowledging that there are still few women working with CAD. The young woman considered, however, that the paradigm may change.

Hairdresser Leonor Silva, 19, also revealed that all the months of training were worth it.

"I'm not going to lie, because the days are very hard and challenging, but the whole process and all the months of training are worth it," she said.

Leonor confided that she entered the field "a bit by accident," because she had still been trying to continue her studies in languages and humanities.

"I wasn't identifying with the course and decided to take a hairdressing course and then (...) I ended up identifying with it and discovered a talent, and here I am," she said.

Gonçalo Costa, 21, an automotive mechanic, has been in the job market for two years and considers himself to be "exceeding expectations" in mechanical and electrical tests.

"We do steering alignment, braking tests, where we have to check for disc warping and the condition of the brake pads. We assemble and disassemble engines, measure the inside of the engine and its components. We also check the electrical systems in cars," the young man explained.

Gonçalo Costa recalled that he had liked cars "since he was little".

"I wanted to understand how a car works, how everything is assembled in a car. It's a bit like what children like when they start to grow up, it's cars," he observed.

Amidst the smell of dough and wheat flour dust, 20-year-old baker Alexandre Cunha appeared, saying that he had thought about becoming a chef.

"It happened by chance. I was doing the course. Initially, I wanted to do more cooking, but then I became more interested in pastry making and the opportunity to go to the bakery arose," he said.

Alexandre Cunha said that in one test he had to apply ‘braiding techniques’ and make a traditional Denmark cake, considering that EuroSkills is "a step above" the Portuguese championship, which took place in Santa Maria da Feira in November last year.

To manage the young people's expectations, Susana Firmino, a psychologist, tries to find "mental strategies" to cope with the demands of the competition.

"What I like most, after seeing them [compete], is exactly what they say about the technical impact and development they end up having with me and all the “inputs” that end up being developed with them in terms of self-knowledge and strategies for dealing with pressure," emphasised Susana Firmino.

According to the expert, young people "begin to discover parts" of themselves that they did not know, with many saying: "I am no longer the same person", even though there is not much to work on.

"There is no time for it to be a calm development process. It's all very fast. (...) They have to absorb a number of strategies and then come here and have the emotional structure and mental strategies to deal with the level of competition that this dynamic implies," she stressed.

The young Portuguese will find out if they will receive medals on Saturday at the EuroSkills closing ceremony at Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, after three days of intense competition.

JML/AYLS // AYLS

Lusa