I am a proud mentor of students from the Zagreb Mechanical Engineering School named Anamarija Rahelić and Bruno Šikac. They were awarded in 2019 for their skills and knowledge in the field of vocational education. The Agency for Vocational Education and Training of Adults organized the State Contest of vocational schools WorldSkills Croatia 2019. The primary goal of the competition was to show that vocational education and training today is innovative, uses modern technologies and is useful for gaining skills that are often needed in the labour market. Without vocational skills there would be no modern society and our lives would be very different. The contest was an ideal chance to enhance our students' work discipline and cooperation skills. WorldSkills Croatia 2019 is the biggest vocational competition in this part of Europe. The numbers speak for themselves: 43 disciplines, more than 2000 participants (580 competitors, 450 mentors, 600 teachers and student volunteers and 220 members of the grading committees). The students, Anamarija and Bruno, with the support of our schools' director Nenad Pavlinić, my mentoring and big help from our teachers Josip Filić, Slaven Kuhar, Nenad Posavec and Mate Sabol participated in the Competition of Engineering.
The students have created a vacuum forming mould casting device in which you pour a dissolved soap base to get personalized soap for visitors. Visitors choose the mould, the colour and the scent of soap themselves. Before constructing the device, the students made elaborate: planning materials, tools and devices, procedures for construction, defining sources of danger, safety procedures and technical-technological documentation. They were awarded bronze medals and made sure that their participation in the competition stays documented as a video.
The I3G Innovation Exhibition was held in Ivanić-Grad, presenting talented students, innovators and entrepreneurs from all over Croatia to share ideas and experiences and present the latest projects and innovations. Our students were given the opportunity to present the work of their vacuum forming device at the Exhibition, and they again represented the school brilliantly by winning a bronze medal in the vocational school’s category.
The Croatian Employers' Association has awarded 25 entrepreneurial ideas of high school teams with a total prize pool of 250.000 HRK. The competition was supported by the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Croatia. Industrial Engineering School student project "The creation of a vacuum forming casting moulding device" has been recognized as one of the top five from the 146 best-received projects and has been awarded 25.000 HRK.
Through all these activities, the students showed that vocational skills are all around us, they developed their professional and personal strengths, they contributed to an even better atmosphere at school and had a great time.
You can see the construction of the forming device here - http://bit.ly/ISŠnaWorldSkillsCroatia2019
Kristinka Lemaić, Teacher, Croatia
Details
- Publication date
- 24 September 2019
- Author
- Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion
- Involvements
- Teacher/trainer