Meet Victor Simon, WorldSkills Champions Trust

Some people are meant to be makers; to solve problems through good design and ingenuity. For Victor Simon of the WorldSkills Champions Trust, his creativity has led him to become a maker that sees opportunity in the biggest challenges.

When Victor was young he was interested in not just playing with toys, but figuring out how they worked. Electric cars and trains peaked his curiosity as he explored how to create and build things. “When you create a machine, you are resolving a problem, solving a task, and designing a system that operates more efficiently than people,” said Victor. “Drawing a virtual concept on a computer then producing a machine that you can touch with your hands is like letting a part of you into the world.”

His curiosity led him to pursue an apprenticeship in mechanical and industrial automation. There, his teacher asked him to participate in the regional skills competition in France, and Victor went on to earn a position on the national team. Victor represented France at WorldSkills Leipzig 2013 in Manufacturing Team Challenge, with Jonathan Jaeger and Ludovic Ober.

Victor’s time on Team France was marked with great moments of pride, including meeting the President of France. He has created a network of contacts around the world and been presented with job opportunities that have dramatically changed the direction of his professional calling. “My WorldSkills experience opened doors I would never have imagined so early in my career,” said Victor. “WorldSkills has empowered me. WorldSkills has opened my mind.”

In his second term on the WorldSkills Champions Trust, Victor notes “I have never ever met anyone in the WorldSkills family who didn’t love everything connected to WorldSkills. And I dream that one day the WorldSkills Champions Trust will be the group who connect everyone! I want to stay involved with this amazing, skilled family every day to continuously meet and share with passionate people.”

Whether as a Project Engineer, a driving force in the development of a global network of WorldSkills Champions, or in his hobby designing cabinets as a woodworker, Victor is driven to being a maker that creates a legacy of excellence. “I hope that at the end of my term on the Champions Trust, I leave for the next representatives a solid base to continue this huge project. I hope that one day, WorldSkills will be as famous and as followed as the Olympics! Skilled people deserve it!”