German plasterers win gold

Leipzig. In the end, it worked out after all – after four exhausting competition days at the WorldSkills, Andreas Schenk from Baden-Württemberg received the eagerly anticipated medal.

The 13-strong starting field had delivered a tough fight in the competition of the stucco plasterers. In the end, no more than nine points separated the first four of the ranking. The result was so narrow that the jury awarded shared gold and bronze respectively.

Wen-Wie Lin (Taiwan) and Andreas Schenk were happy about a gold medal, Ji-Won Hwang (South Korea) and Michael Barry (Ireland) no less so about bronze. The medals were presented during the formal closing ceremony in the presence of the Federal Minister of Education Prof Dr Johanna Wanka.

Andreas was overjoyed, of course: “Incredible, I still can’t believe it. Last year at the EuroSkills it didn’t quite work out, but now it did. Without our national team and the funding I would never have achieved this. We had great support.”

Konrad Richter, Sto-Stiftung council member for the crafts, was impressed: “These WorldSkills are a great event. We from the Sto-Stiftung are proud of Andreas and the entire plasterers’ national team.”

The team was formed in autumn 2011 on the initiative of the Ausbildungszentrum für Stuckateure Leonberg (KOMZET), a training centre for plasterers, and is supported by the German plasterer’s craft. The Sto-Stiftung is the exclusive supporter.