Silver medal and two "Medallions for Excellence”
From September 10 to 15, 2024, the WorldSkills – the World Championship of Skilled Crafts – was held in Lyon, France. All three Bühler candidates who qualified for the competition won a medal. Maurin Schickli and his partner were even runners-up in the discipline "Industry 4.0".
Karin Hämmerle, December 2024
Manuel Ulmann, Florentin Kaufmann and Maurin Schickli have completed an intensive year of preparation. Their journey to WorldSkills took them to numerous training sessions and team events around the globe. Highlights included the opening weekend at Schwarzsee in Germany, the team weekend in Tenero and Lyon, training sessions at Technorama Winterthur, Yverdon, China, Vienna and the final public preparation competition on the Säntis mountain in Switzerland, 2,502 meters above sea level. These experiences have perfectly prepared the candidates for the upcoming challenges at WorldSkills. During the preparation period, our candidates were able to develop not only their technical skills, but also their social skills and their professional and personal network.
In September, the time had finally come: together with a strong Swiss national team of 45 athletes, they traveled to Lyon, France, to show off their skills. During a stopover of several days in Geneva, they were able to take a deep breath together with the Swiss national team and recharge their batteries for the upcoming competitions with sporting activities such as pilates, archery, and mental training. Then, on Tuesday evening, September 10, came the moment to remember: the 47th WorldSkills in Lyon was officially opened by French President Emmanuel Macron. The Swiss national team proudly marched into the sold-out LDLC arena. Our three Bühler candidates Florentin, Maurin and Manuel were right in the middle of it all.
Before the starting signal was given for the first day of the competition, Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin invited representatives of the Swiss delegation to breakfast. In his speech, he emphasized the great importance of promoting talent in dual vocational education and training. "Our companies are interested in good initial and further training so that they have qualified specialists in the industry," said Minister Parmelin to the SwissSkills organization. Our three candidates finally started the four-day competition at 9am. Florentin and Maurin with their respective team partners in the "Mechatronics" and "Industry 4.0" disciplines, Manuel in the "Welding" discipline.
Automation engineer Florentin Kaufmann mastered the competition in the "Mechatronics" discipline together with team partner Enrico Putzi. He took on the task of mechanically constructing an automated system.
Maurin Schickli also competed in a team discipline. As a computer scientist, he was responsible for programming in the "Industry 4.0" discipline. At the age of 18, both apprentices are among the youngest candidates at the vocational world championships.
Manuel Ulmann, who completed his apprenticeship as a plant and apparatus engineer at the Appenzell plant in 2022, shone in his "Welding" discipline with masterful craftsmanship in sheet metal processing. Manuel was able to manage his strength perfectly during the competition. He says proudly: "Welding aluminum and stainless steel is in my blood and is part of the DNA of the Appenzell plant."
The international competition, in which participants from different cultures and countries compete, is an impressive stage for young people between the ages of 18 and 23 who have either completed an apprenticeship or prepared intensively at a university for precisely these professional world championships. They all strive for gold with full commitment. In Switzerland, the Bühler management team was also cheering on the young talents. Stefan Scheiber kept his fingers crossed for our candidates and the Swiss national team and was always up to date – our CEO became a passionate fan.
"With the top performances of these young professional athletes, we are strengthening the image of industrial professions in the public eye. I consider this to be very important in order to be able to attract motivated and capable young people to the industry in the future," says Stefan Scheiber.
On the third day of the competition, 120 Bühler apprentices traveled to Lyon for a day to support their colleagues Florentin, Maurin and Manuel on site. The message on the brightly colored fan shirts was promising: Go for GOLD!
Even if it wasn't quite enough for gold in the end, the three of them are true champions for us. Maurin Schickli returns to Switzerland with a silver medal and, together with team partner Leon Bamert, is crowned Vice World Champion in the "Industry 4.0" discipline. Florentin and Manuel are honored with a "Medallion for Excellence". All three can be incredibly proud of their achievements. "I'm over the moon that I was able to make my parents, Bühler and myself happy with this result," says Florentin shortly after the award ceremony in Lyon.
Maurin can hardly believe his luck either. He attributes his success to good teamwork. "Without a team partner like Leon, who is so competent both personally and professionally, I would hardly have been able to achieve this level of performance as an 18-year-old." After the award ceremony, there are celebrations with family, friends and, of course, the Bühler vocational training team, which also traveled to Lyon in a large group. In the middle of it all is a beaming Andreas Bischof, Head of Vocational Training. "I am very happy that after starting eight years ago, we have now managed to catch up with the world leaders thanks to a unique team performance."
Thanks to a great deal of effort and commitment, Bühler has once again succeeded in becoming one of the world leaders in high-tech disciplines such as "Mechatronics" and "Industry 4.0". A key success factor lies in the quality of the training crew. Jens Helfenstein successfully leads a team to which Ramon Mösle, Denis Forster, and David Hollenstein tirelessly contribute. The electrical and mechanical technicians and engineers are always up to date with the latest knowledge in order to pass on the latest technologies to the young trainees. The apprentices from the Appenzell plant are regularly among the best in national competitions and excel in plant and equipment construction. Hans-Martin Schmid and Lars Moser provide them with close support and specifically encourage the development of their individual talents.
This is a significant moment for Bühler and great proof of the quality of the training and the commitment of the young talents. The months of intensive preparation and the final training on the Säntis mountain have paid off.
The candidates were also able to use the new Bühler Energy Center to prepare. With the Energy Center, which opened its doors in Uzwil in June 2023, Bühler is helping its employees to develop their professional and personal potential in a future-oriented way. Apprentices are prepared here at the highest level of training for the professional world of tomorrow and beyond.
Bühler is proud that its young talents have not only demonstrated technical excellence, but also team spirit and innovative strength. "This success will spur on all apprentices, I'm sure of that," says Andreas Bischof. "And we look forward to continuing to promote and support these ambitious talents and to the next challenges."
In an international comparison (65 countries, 59 disciplines), Switzerland and its 45-strong national team achieved an outstanding third place behind Korea and China – a remarkable success that included six gold, six silver and one bronze medal and 21 "Medallions for Excellence".
The entire vocational training team is inspired by the success and has already set itself a new, ambitious goal: The world championship title in Shanghai 2026. We would like to congratulate Manuel, Florentin and Maurin Schickli and wish the entire vocational training team every success in their preparations for WorldSkills 2026.
The starting signal was given last year when Maurin and his team partner won the SwissSkills gold medal in the "Industry 4.0" discipline. At that moment, I realized that we as Bühler Vocational Training would actually be bringing a professional athlete to WorldSkills. Experiencing the training phase on the Säntis, literally at the highest level, and the World Championships themselves in Lyon was an overwhelming feeling. When the professional athletes celebrated on the opening stage or mastered their tasks with full concentration, my heart beat faster as the person responsible for vocational training. I shared their excitement.
I was particularly proud of the support our three professional athletes received from over a hundred apprentices from the Bühler delegation who traveled to Lyon. When Maurin and his team partner were finally called to second place in the Groupama stadium in front of thousands of fans, the joy was immense. This success was not only their personal triumph, but also a testament to the strength and commitment we invest in the training of our talents.
I wore two hats during the entire journey: on the one hand, as the person responsible for vocational training, I was responsible for supporting Maurin's training as an EFZ IT specialist in application development and coordinating the additional work involved in participating in WorldSkills. On the other hand, I took on the role of expert for the "Industry 4.0" discipline and coach for our WorldSkills team. Fortunately, I always had a strong team at my side in both areas, which created the right framework for Maurin's development. Ultimately, however, it was Maurin who took the decisive step in his development himself – and did so with impressive brilliance.
I don't think there was a single key moment that led Maurin to this success. It's more his attitude, his character and the environment that shapes him. Maurin is always in a good mood, a real optimist and a sportsman through and through. He has friends who support him at school and a family that always has his back. He is open to new things, ambitious and tackles his apprenticeship with great commitment – always on the right track. Of course, there are also moments when he is demotivated, annoyed or bored if something doesn't go right. But it is precisely this mixture of highs and lows that makes Maurin so special.
Before I switched to vocational training, I worked in adult education at the Automation Academy at Bühler. Most of the participants there were under enormous time pressure, juggling numerous projects and hardly had any room to really engage in learning or further training. Personal development was often severely restricted. The situation is completely different in vocational training. The period of three or four years may be fixed, but within this time almost all doors are open to learners to develop in the direction that interests them.
It is this opportunity to experience the developmental steps of the apprentices, to accompany and support them, that I find incredibly exciting and gives me great pleasure.
I completed my apprenticeship as an EFZ automation technician in 2006. A lot has changed since then, especially the training facility: the modern Energy Center cannot be compared with the "chalet" (8067) back then. The basic training process in the first year of the apprenticeship is also different today. Back then, we learned interdisciplinary skills in blocks, often for months on end in construction or mechanical filing. Today, apprentices stay within their occupational group and acquire additional skills in six weeks.
Back then, there were no new opportunities such as assignments abroad, sports apprenticeships or participation in SwissSkills. Today, motivated apprentices have countless opportunities to develop their skills. This broad range of training opportunities attracts many young people to Bühler and optimally prepares apprentices for the job market – with a backpack full of valuable experience.
Only those who look backwards in life can see what has been achieved and what is still possible.
Did you know that Bühler has been working with the Global Alliance for YOUth to promote the professional development of young people for over a decade? On our tenth anniversary, we were honored with the Global Alliance for YOUth Award for our great commitment to vocational training. Andreas Bischof, Head of Vocational Training, and the training managers Stefanie Bärlocher and Patrick Bolt proudly accepted the award.
In collaboration with the Global Alliance for YOUth and the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN), a campaign to promote apprenticeships has been carried out in recent years. This included webinars on implementing the recommendations of the International Labor Organization (ILO), a guide and a social media campaign in which apprentices and their training managers were profiled. In addition, we conducted an apprentice exchange together with Nestlé, which strengthened our understanding of customers and suppliers.
Bühler attaches great importance to promoting young talent and providing access to high-quality training. Through our membership of the Global Alliance for YOUth, we use global synergies to take training to an even higher level.
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