WorldSkills Germany: Competition of the best up-and-coming young professionals in graphic design and printing technology

• German championships were held in the High Performance Center for Printing in Heidelberg’s Print Media Center in Wiesloch-Walldorf
• The winners go on to train as national teams for the international WorldSkills competition running from September 22 to 26, 2021, in Shanghai

At the German championships held from October 19 to 22, 2020, in the Print Media Center of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) in Wiesloch-Walldorf, twelve skilled workers demonstrated their high level of knowledge. Six media designers and six print media technologists took on the challenging competition tasks.

Luisa Kewitz, who completed her vocational training at bfw tailormade communication GmbH in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, ultimately secured the gold medal in the graphic design discipline. Hendrik den Ouden, who works at Heidelberg in Wiesloch-Walldorf, was the winner in the printing technology discipline.

“Today we’re selecting the best up-and-coming young professionals for the international WorldSkills,” emphasized Marcus A. Wassenberg, CFO of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, at the award ceremony for the German championships. “Talent management and the promotion of up-and-coming young professionals pay off. This is also what drives us at Heidelberg. Which is why we support this and other competitions like “Jugend Forscht” or the “Wissensfabrik”. Any why we are growing our vocational training numbers – bucking the current trend in the economy. We invest in the competencies of our talents. Because they are vital to the pace of transformation and our industry’s long-term success. They are the present and the future. They show that achievement, curiosity, and a hunger for knowledge pay off.”

Hubert Romer, Secretary of WorldSkills Germany, was also impressed by the outstanding performances on show from the competitors: “The times we are living in are not the easiest of backdrops against which to demonstrate top performance. But our finalists in the German championships did not let this stop them, and showed incredible strength of nerve. They have proven that they are among the best in Germany, and the world.”

Challenging tasks for young talents

In fact, the competition, naturally held in compliance with the applicable coronavirus hygiene measures, was as tough as ever. In the graphic design discipline, the competitors had to come up with a completely new corporate design for a print shop that produces small-edition art print runs using historical presses. This included a new logo, new corporate colors and fonts, business cards, and a poster campaign, among other things. “This is a task that an entire team of media designers would spend several days working on,” said Markus Wiese, WorldSkills trainer of the German national team in the graphic design discipline and owner of media design agency Mediengestaltung Wiese, “but the competitors did well.” Dorothee Schlecht from interface.die medienwerkstatt in Neckargemünd claimed the silver medal in this discipline, while Eliane Schauff from Adolph-Kolping-Berufskolleg Münster won bronze.

The competitors in the printing technology discipline had to produce a four-color job on a Speedmaster SX 52 offset printing press and mix several spot colors. The tasks had to be completed as quickly and efficiently as possible. Bernhard Nahm, Head of Vocational Training for Media Professions at Heidelberg and responsible for organizing the event, also confirmed: “The competitors’ performance has been good to very good across the board. We noticed that all of them are passionate about the profession of print media technologist. This is something we see in all participants who put themselves forward for a competition like this.”

Sezer Emre Bay, who completed his vocational training at Kösel GmbH & Co. KG, and is now working for the Belgian company Van Genechten Packaging in Kempten, won the silver medal in the printing technology discipline. Maximilian Glockshuber from Offsetdruck Dersch in Wörth secured bronze.

Participants in WorldSkills Germany must have completed their training and be under 23 years of age. Applications are submitted to the Zentral-Fachausschuss Berufsbildung Druck und Medien (ZFA).

Both national teams are now training for the international WorldSkills competition, planned for September 22 to 26, 2021, in Shanghai.

The German championships in the media professions enjoy the support of a number of heavyweight partners. These include the Bundesverband Druck und Medien e. V. (German printing and media industries federation), SRH Berufsbildungswerk Neckargemünd (non-profit vocational training organization), the Zentral-Fachausschuss Berufsbildung Druck und Medien (central committee for vocational education and training in print and media), and Mediengestaltung Wiese (media design agency). Heidelberg is a founding member of WorldSkills Germany and already in its ninth year of supporting the national championships.