Skills Heroes 2025
The national vocational competition of the Dutch MBO, run by WorldSkills Netherlands. In the software developer trade I won my college's preliminary rounds, was one of eight students selected nationally from a qualifier of twenty-four, and finished fifth of the seven who competed in the final in Amsterdam.
| Trade | Software developer |
| College | Firda, Leeuwarden |
| Qualifier | 11 and 12 December 2024, Firda, Martiniplein 1, Sneek (24 students, 8 places) |
| Final | 20 and 21 March 2025, Skills The Finals, RAI Amsterdam |
| Result | One of 8 selected nationally; fifth of the seven who competed |
The national qualifier, December 2024
I won Firda's preliminary rounds, which gave me the college's place in the national qualifier. It ran on 11 and 12 December 2024 at Firda's Martiniplein site in Sneek, in two groups, each working on the assignment from 10:00 to 14:30 under a jury. Twenty-four students from colleges across the country competed for eight places in the final.
The final, March 2025
On 19 December 2024 Firda announced the first seven of its students through to the final, me among them. By March, Firda's team was twenty-two students in twenty trades, and it came home with two gold, three silver and three bronze.
Skills The Finals ran on 20 and 21 March 2025 at the RAI in Amsterdam. Seven of the eight selected software developers competed over the two days, and I finished fifth.
