Finland as a host country
Under the leadership of Skills Finland, Finland has hosted two international skills competitions in Helsinki, with preparations underway for a third event in 2027.
Finland is an active participant in international skills competitions. By organising these events, we pursue the same goals as through participation: developing Finnish vocational education and promoting internationalisation.
WorldSkills Helsinki 2005
Following the WorldSkills competition in Montreal in 1999, Skills Finland decided to apply to host the competition to Finland. The rights to organise WorldSkills 2005 were granted to Finland at IVTO’s (now WorldSkills International, WSI) 50th anniversary meeting in Lisbon in June 2000.
From the outset, two key principles guided the planning: collaboration and youth involvement. The project aimed to consciously build new and innovative networks of cooperation, involving education providers, businesses, and organisations. It was also considered important to showcase Finnish expertise broadly and diversely. Furthermore, the goal was to offer as many young people as possible the opportunity to enhance their skills and vocational competence by participating in the event organisation.
WorldSkills Helsinki 2005 was held at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre from 26–29 May 2005. There were 39 official skills and nearly 700 competitors. The largest teams came from Finland, South Korea, Switzerland, Japan, the Netherlands, and Taiwan.
The event attracted an impressive 118,000 visitors, including 65,000 school pupils and 8,000 international guests. In terms of visitor numbers, it was the largest event in the history of the venue at that time.
Team Finland 2005 achieved its best-ever results at the home competition: four gold medals, one silver, three bronze, and 17 Medallions of Excellence. Finland ranked fourth overall, behind Switzerland, South Korea, and Germany.
The competition was a great success and is often referred to as the beginning of a new era for WorldSkills. Several new concepts introduced in Helsinki are still in use today, including the CIS scoring system, which is now used in WorldSkills, EuroSkills, and Taitaja competitions.
More information on WorldSkills website
WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition
The global COVID-19 pandemic also affected international competition activities. Originally planned for autumn 2021 in Shanghai, the WorldSkills competition was postponed to autumn 2022. In the summer preceding the event, WSI decided that due to the health situation, it would not be feasible to hold the competition in a single location.
Instead, the event was organised in an unprecedented way: the skills were distributed across 15 countries and held between September and November. The competition was named WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition.
Skills Finland and its partner institutions accepted the challenge of hosting. A four-skill competition event was held at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre from 20–23 October 2022. The skills hosted in Finland were: Floristry, Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy, and Fashion Technology.
In total, over 1,100 competitors from 57 countries took part in the 2022 WorldSkills competition. The Finnish segment brought together over 200 competitors and judges from 32 countries. The Helsinki event welcomed around 15,000 visitors.
More information on WorldSkills website
Abilympics Helsinki 2027
The Abilympics, a vocational skills competition for professionals with special needs, is held every four years. In October 2023, member countries of the International Abilympic Federation (IAF) selected Skills Finland to host the Abilympics 2027. The three-day competition will take place at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre from 10–13 May 2027, in collaboration with vocational education providers, particularly special vocational institutions. The Abilympics will feature around 40 skills and approximately 400 competitors.
Abilympics provides an opportunity to bring into public discussion the right of professionals with special support needs to participate in working life, and the valuable skills they offer to meet labour market demands.
Abilympics Helsinki 2027 will be organised alongside the national Taitaja competition at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre as part of the large-scale Skills Games event from 10–13 May 2027. Skills Finland is responsible for organising the Abilympics and the Skills Games, while Omnia oversees Taitaja. More than 20 vocational institutions are involved in the organisation. The event will feature around 80 skills, 800 competitors, and 120,000 visitors, making it the largest vocational skills event in Finnish history in terms of the number of skills.