The very first Skills Heroes Powered By final competition for the Laboratory Technician was held on February 4, 2025. Thirteen Middle Laboratory Education (MLO) students from all over the Netherlands competed in Leiden for five hours for a spot in the top three. For Baukje van Vliet of ROC Midden Nederland, Danielle Poelman of mboRijnland and Eline Versteden of Curio it is still exciting who will go home with gold, silver and bronze. This will be announced on Friday, March 21, during Skills The Finals in the RAI Amsterdam.
The Skills Heroes flags will fly on Tuesday, February 4 at mboRijnland, location Zernikedreef in Leiden. While the contestants and their teacher-supervisors trickle in, the judges go over their tasks one more time. Debby Zuijderduin, Team Leader MLO within mboRijnland, welcomes everyone. Each participant draws a lottery ticket from her to determine his or her lab table on the competition floor. The opening of the final competition is done by Pieter van der Vliet of WorldSkills Netherlands. Van der Vliet talks enthusiastically about Skills Heroes and the fact that there are also European competitions for Laboratory Technicians. After a short tour of the competition floor, the starting signal sounds.
For five hours, participants “bend over backwards on behalf of the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority to check the quality of potentially contaminated baby milk powder. Planning skills and analytical ability are tested, as well as cross-curricular skills. During the lunch break, participants can take a break. For the teacher-supervisors there is a parallel program with round table discussion and tour of the Leiden Bio Science Park. At half past four the competition is over and the participants are welcomed with loud applause. All receive a certificate of participation. There are words of appreciation for the organization, and flowers for the professional jury.
Long after all the candidates have gone home, the jury completes its assessment and the top three are finally known: Baukje van Vliet of ROC Midden Nederland, Danielle Poelman of mboRijnland and Eline Versteden of Curio. In the evening, the candidates receive a recorded message from Loes Hooijboer, head of the jury. She compliments all thirteen finalists with their great performance: ‘That the students have reached this final is an achievement in itself. They should be proud of what they have put up here.’ Who wins gold, silver and bronze will be announced on Friday, March 21 during Skills The Finals in the RAI Amsterdam.
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