Over three days, nearly 500 young people under the age of 25 set their sights on the podium to be recognised as the best in their field in Europe. Belgium took home nine medals and six medallions of excellence.
 

Euroskills sets out to promote the manual and technical trades among the general public, particularly through high-level competitions held every two years and that alternate with the international competitions.

Lille played host to this year’s event, which was held between the 2nd and 4th of October.

The 26-strong Belgian Team was comprised of 8 young women and 18 young men, who descended on Lille to represent our country in 22 trades.

The results

• 9 medals: 3 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze medals,
• 6th in the country ranking: Belgium came 6th out of 25 participating countries in terms of total number of points, 
• 6 medallions of excellence: score equal to or higher than the global average.

The medals

Gold medals

• Computer graphics: Laureen Delhaye (aged 22, from Jumet),
• Entrepreneurship: Gilles Goffard (aged 22, from Verviers) and Esther Guerisse (aged 21, from Libin),
• Cross Media Publishing (team): Laureen Delhaye and Maxime Bonhomme.

Silver medals

• Web design: Maxime Bonhomme (aged 22, from Namur),
• Cabinetmaking: Jakob De Rynck (aged 21, from Oostkamp),
• Wood technologies (carpentry, woodworking, wood machine team): Jakob De Rynck - Antoine Evrard - Maxime Debailleul.

Bronze medals

• Tiling: Chloé Moury (aged 24, Liege),
• Masonry: Xavier Desbuleux (aged 24, from Scy),
• Carpentry: Antoine Evrard (aged 19, from Bertogne).

Medallions of excellence

• Welding: Ngoc Tuong Tran (aged 21, from Genappe),
• Electrical systems: Vincent Delhaye (aged 22, from Aubel),
• Industrial Control: Antoine Michotte (aged 19, from Bovigny),
• Floral Art: Verena Reiners (aged 25, from Bullange) and Jolien Vanderstappen (aged 21, from Brussels),
• Automotive Technology: Wesley Villette (aged 24, from Oupeye),
• Restaurant service: William Denayer (aged 18, from Hastière-Lavaux).

Laureen Delhaye obtained the best Belgian result. The title, in the field of computer graphics, earned her the honour of a place on the podium, alongside twenty other national champions, during the Closing Ceremony held at the Zenith in Lille.

This flurry of medals is not only down to the talents of the young people of Wallonia and Brussels but is also a wider recognition of the quality of education in Wallonia-Brussels.