SwissSkills 2025 selected the best young professionals

With a great deal of commitment, perseverance and skill, over 1000 young professionals competed for the title of Swiss champion in their profession. On the evening of September 20, 2025, the three best participants in each profession received the well-deserved reward for their outstanding performance in the form of a medal at the emotional award ceremony. This took place in front of around 6,000 visitors in the PostFinance Arena. Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin, who had already visited SwissSkills 2025 on Thursday, took the opportunity to personally congratulate every medal winner during the almost four-hour award ceremony. "Bravo, you have achieved great things," said Minister for Economic Affairs Parmelin, who himself once completed an apprenticeship as a farmer. "Passion, skill, professional pride - that's what has moved us in recent days. And I say it with conviction: Their skills are a promise for the future."

The canton of Bern wins the most medals

The medal tally shows: The canton of Bern was the most successful with 66 medals. It was followed by St. Gallen with 34 and Zurich with 28 awards. But it's not just the quantity that counts! In terms of the number of participants, Glarus and Nidwalden fared best. They were followed by Solothurn and Thurgau, which impressively demonstrated how much passion and quality there is in vocational training in their region.

When the BERNEXPO site becomes a classroom

From Wednesday to Friday, over 65,000 pupils in 2,100 classes transformed the BERNEXPO site into a living classroom. Instead of textbook theory, there was pure practice: welding, programming, serving, bricklaying, hairdressing. For many, it was their first encounter with professions they had only heard about before. The young people were amazed, asked countless questions and tried out the more than 150 professions themselves at the "Try a Skill" stations. These encounters make vocational training not only tangible, but also an emotional experience - impressions that have a lasting impact on the career choice process.

Crafts remain indispensable

Under the motto "When ChatGPT needs electricity - who lays the cable?", the Swiss Construction and Building Envelope core group demonstrated at SwissSkills the central role that the finishing and building envelope professions play in the Swiss working world. The focus was on promoting young talent and the career prospects of talented young people. A
A topic that is more relevant than ever in view of the shortage of skilled workers. With more than 30,000 apprentices, the industry is not only one of the largest training providers in Switzerland, but also a guarantee for practical and future-proof career paths. A tour of SwissSkills showed just how diverse the industry is and how broad the opportunities are for young talent. Konrad Imbach, Central President of Ceruniq, stated: "Especially in times of automation and artificial intelligence, it is clear how important craftsmanship remains. Technology alone does not build houses."

More information: Results | SwissSkills