Skills Games 2027

Skills Finland will host a unique major event Skills Games in Helsinki Messukeskus in May 2027 when the Abilympics vocational skills competition for people with special needs is held concurrently with the Taitaja2027 national skills competition.

Skills Games Event

• At the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre on 10–13 May 2027.
• It brings together under one roof two skills competitions: the WorldSkills competition for professionals with special support needs, Abilympics, and the Finnish National Skills Competition for young people, Taitaja.
• In total, there will be more than 80 skills and 800 competitors.
• The Ministry of Education and Culture supports the organisation of both competitions.
• The target is more than 120,000 visitors.

Abilympics Helsinki 2027

The skills competition Abilympics for professionals with special support needs is organised every four years. Competitors must be at least 15 years old or have completed compulsory schooling. In October 2023, the member countries of the International Abilympic Federation selected Skills Finland as the organiser of Abilympics 2027. The three-day competition will be organised in cooperation with vocational education and training providers, in particular vocational special education institutions. Through Abilympics, it is possible to bring more strongly into public discussion the right of professionals with special support needs to access working life and the competence they have to offer in response to the needs of working life.

Abilympics 2027 website

Taitaja2027

Young people studying in vocational institutions who turn 22 or are younger in the competition year can participate in the Finnish National Skills Competition Taitaja. The competition is organised annually.

Taitaja website (information about the 2027 competition will be updated after May 2026)

Skills Games 2027 team

Skills Finland is responsible for organising the Skills Games event and the Abilympics competition, and Omnia for the Taitaja competition. A total of 25 vocational education and training providers are involved in the implementation. All Skills Finland staff members participate in organising the event alongside their regular work, and in addition, a few people have been recruited on fixed-term contracts specifically for the event. Omnia has established a separate project organisation for the event.

Event management

The Event Director is Maria Ekroth, CEO of Skills Finland. The arrangements for the Abilympics competition are led by Katri Pokkinen, Competition Director of Abilympics 2027. The coordination of the organisation of the Taitaja2027 competition is the responsibility of Omnia, led by Taitaja2027 Competition Director Thomas Vasenius.

Other staff

• Maria Atzmon (maria.atzmon@skillsfinland.fi) works as Service Manager for the Abilympics competition.
• Sari Hartikainen (sari.hartikainen@skillsfinland.fi) is the Partnership Manager for the Skills Games event.
• Emmi-Maria Husu (emmi-maria.husu@skillsfinland.fi) is responsible for liaison with Abilympics member countries.
• Katja Katajamäki (katja.katajamaki@skills.finland.fi) leads communications and marketing for both competitions and the entire event.
• Anu Kilkku (anu.kilkku@inlive.fi) has been recruited for one day per week as an expert in highly demanding special support for the Abilympics competition and TaitajaPLUS skills.
• Communications Planner Katariina Kivi (katariina.kivi@skillsfinland.fi) has been recruited for Abilympics communications.
• Sari Mäenpää (sari.maenpaa@skillsfinland.fi) works as Development Manager in both competitions and the entire event. Among other things, she is responsible for the overall implementation of competence-based learning.
• Teija Ripattila (teija.ripattila@skillsfinland.fi) works as a Competition Expert.
• Competition Manager Margit Tennosaar (margit.tennosaar@omnia.fi) supports the Skill Competition Managers of both competitions in skills planning.
• Service Manager Carita Tähtinen (carita.tahtinen@omnia.fi) is responsible for coordinating services for the Taitaja competition.
• Tuija Vento (tuija.vento@skillsfinland.fi) is responsible for the graphic design of materials for both competitions and the entire event.

Education providers

Approximately 25 education providers from across Finland are participating in organising the event.