Innovation requires outstanding skills

Tomorrow’s technological breakthroughs depend on strong vocational skills. That is why we must support the many young people competing for medals at EuroSkills in Herning.

In September, the starting signal is given for EuroSkills in Herning.

Europe’s sharpest apprentices meet to compete to see who is best at building walls, laying floors, installing pipes, and a host of other fascinating skills.

They really go for it, and as a visitor it is fun to see how professional, creative, and demanding the vocational programmes are.

In our digital age, we can easily forget how essential craftsmanship is to our society.

We cannot get new roads, schools, and hospitals unless we have skilled tradespeople. Most people understand that. But it goes much deeper than that.

Our ability to innovate depends heavily on having skilled people who master their trade to perfection.

Something magical happens when hands and mind come together. When you work in depth with a trade, you can also see where the potential for improvement lies and do something about it. And that is something we excel at here at home.

In Denmark, we are good at listening to our tradespeople. We have a tradition of a flat hierarchy and a shop floor where there is not far from thought to action. The person behind the machine can stand with the factory manager, turn the product over in their hands, and openly and honestly discuss problems and propose solutions.

The best idea wins regardless of rank, and we move from lofty ideas to tangible output.

This flat hierarchical structure in companies creates exceptional conditions for innovation and gives us clear competitive advantages compared with the rest of the world.

Yes, Denmark is actually in an impressive 4th place in this year’s newly published World Competitiveness Ranking. We are just behind countries such as Singapore and Switzerland—not least thanks to our curious tradespeople.

They are the ones behind the new machines, who introduce new materials and change the design of new solutions that put us at the forefront.

Without skilled tradespeople, renewal will not happen. Then we remain stuck with old technologies that cannot solve tomorrow’s problems. Then we may miss the revolution that is happening right now in 3D printing, which is taking more and more industries by storm. 3D printing has some truly unique properties in a digital future where we must conserve resources.

In 3D printing, products are manufactured by printing layer by layer. This saves large amounts of materials, labour hours, and CO2 emissions. The societal benefits are enormous if we roll out the technology. And there is certainly a lot to be gained in construction, where warehouses, houses, and schools can already be printed in months rather than years.

But this requires skilled and curious tradespeople who embrace the technology, develop it, and adapt it to their trade.

That is why we need more people to choose the trades as a career path, so we can maintain our unique position. But it is not enough to have skilled apprentices.

At least as important is having masters who support young talents and encourage them to seek new knowledge—whether in the workshop, in the classroom, or on TikTok.

And that brings us back to EuroSkills.

Because all the skilled apprentices have one thing in common: a skilled and committed master who supports young people’s passion, inspires them to learn, and gives them room to develop.

That provides skills for life.