A world-renowned, high-level competition, the 45th WorldSkills Competition has been held since 2017 and will culminate in the international competition in Kazan, Russia, in 2019. However, before reaching the national and international finals, young competitors must first secure their place in the regional team after pre-selections and selections based on the trades represented.
In the Grand Est region, the regional finals of the 45th WorldSkills Competition took place from March 14 to April 17, 2018, in various training centers, including the CFA de l'Industrie – Pôle Formation UIMM Champagne-Ardenne, where one of our engineering students, Tony LACKOVIC, is completing his work-study program. Among his tasks was organizing the Champagne-Ardenne pre-selections for the metallurgy and boilermaking trades... a project that won him over and ultimately convinced him to participate!
Currently an engineering student on an apprenticeship program at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers Châlons-en-Champagne, Tony LACKOVIC helped organize the Grand Est finals for metallurgy, boilermaking, welding, and industrial control (construction of an electrical cabinet) held at the CFA de l'Industrie – Pôle Formation UIMM Champagne-Ardenne, where he is completing his work-study program. In parallel with this company project, on a more personal level, Tony LACKOVIC had the ambition to participate in the Olympiads. However, students are only allowed to participate once per level of study; as he had not yet started the robotics specialization, it made more sense to wait for the next session.
So, after talking with other people in charge of organizing the Olympics, he finally decided to enter the competition himself, teaming up with one of his CFA classmates to form a mechatronics duo. His commitment, hard work, and complementary skills with his teammate paid off, as they won the Grand Est regional mechatronics final!
He was awarded the gold medal, but the competition has only just begun. The Olympics are indeed worthy of a high-level sporting competition. After a first weekend of physical and mental preparation supervised by two coaches last May, he took part in a seminar in Paris bringing together all the regional delegations and all the "Gold" candidates, who were briefed on the competition rules. It was also an opportunity to meet the experts in charge of the subjects that will be presented during the national final.
A second preparation weekend took place on September 22 and 23, and a final one will be held 10 days before the French final, which will take place in Caen from November 29 to December 2, 2018. This final will determine the bronze, silver, and gold medalists in all trades, who will once again compete and be coached for five weeks to determine who will join the French team to represent their trade. A small detail: there will be two French teams: one to compete in the WorldSkills international competition in Kazan, Russia, in 2019, and another forEuroSkills, which will be held in Austria in 2020.
If Tony LACKOVIC makes it to the end of the competition, he will only be eligible for EuroSkills, as mechatronics has not performed well enough in previous years at the international competition to qualify for this edition. But we wish him courage, perseverance, and a little luck for a successful outcome, which we will be sure to follow!
Next step: the French national finals from November 29 to December 2, 2018.
