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30 June 2021

Festo and WorldSkills celebrate 30 years of partnership

Festo became a Global Partner in 1991 and has provided state-of-the-art learning systems for WorldSkills Competitions around the world ever since.

Festo is a global player in automation technology and education. Around 300,000 industrial customers and around 60,000 education customers worldwide rely on its portfolio.

"It is important for us to be innovative in the field of education. We want to support people so that they acquire skills that are needed in industry. This way, their personal development and professional future can be secured," explains Enrico Rühle, member of the board Festo Didactic.

Learning through competitions makes it possible to get young people excited about technical topics. The partnership started at the WorldSkills Competition 1991 in Amsterdam.

Festo was asked to design and equip a new competition discipline: Mechatronics, combining mechanics, electronics, and information technology in global manufacturing and production technology.

Since then, Festo has been equipping WorldSkills for Mechatronics with its Modular Production System MPS, which is continually updated with new innovations and components, but now Festo is also active in other skills.

In 2019, the skill Industry 4.0 was introduced. Festo Didactic has configurated its Cyber-Physical Learning System, the CP Lab. A learning system used to teach a wide variety of technologies in Industry 4.0. This enables the trainees to keep pace with technological progress.

Water is a scarce commodity in many regions of the world. That is why Festo Didactic has supported the creation of the skill Water Technology. In this skill trainees simulate the processes of a water and wastewater treatment plant, using the modular Water Management Learning System EDS® (Environmental Discovery System).

"We believe more than ever that the skills of young people will lead us on the path to global economic recovery and prosperity," said David Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International. “Long-standing co-operations with innovative and globally focused industry partners like Festo help WorldSkills to prepare young people for their future working lives in technical professions.”

Find out more about the skills.

More about Festo

Festo is a global player and an independent family-owned company with headquarters in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany. Festo has set standards in industrial automation technology and technical education ever since its establishment, thereby making a contribution to sustainable development of the environment, the economy and society. The company supplies pneumatic and electrical automation technology to 300,000 customers of factory and process automation in over 35 industries. The LifeTech sector with medical technology and laboratory automation is becoming increasingly important. The products and services are available in 176 countries. With about 20,000 employees in over 250 branch offices in 61 countries worldwide, Festo achieved a turnover of around €2.84 billion in 2020. Each year around 8 % of this turnover is invested in research and development. In this learning company, 1.5 % of turnover is invested in basic and further training. Festo Didactic SE is a leading provider of technical education and training and offers its customers worldwide comprehensive digital and physical learning solutions in the industrial environment.

More about WorldSkills

WorldSkills is the global hub of skills excellence, which promotes vocational education and training for young people in 85 Member countries and regions. Every two years we host the world championships of skills and we passionately believe that skills change lives. Formed in 1950, our Members promote skills to two-thirds of the world’s population.     

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