The Swiss delegation won 20 medals (11 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze and 13 medals of excellence) in Abu Dhabi last week. Thea team was received in Zurich by Federal Councillor Johann Schneider-Ammann, who personally congratulated all winners, expressing his hearfelt appreciation.

Stefan Romang and Ruedi Mösching took part for the fifth time, not as a candidate, but as an expert. Mösching is co-owner of a plaster and painting business in Gstaad, while Stefan Romang ran Charly's Tearoom in Gstaad for years and will soon open a small chocolate factory in Gstaad. Both have been involved in the relevant professional association for years and are in demand as experts in competitions, the most prestigious of these being WorldSkills.

One of the tasks of the experts is to look after the candidates from the national team, who must be younger than 22 years old. Stefan Romang was responsible for the bakers and confectioners, and was particularly proud of Swiss Ramona Bolliger, who shared the gold medal with France and China on the bakers podium. This year, he also supervised the Swiss confiseur Uthaya Umaparan, who won a medal of excellence.

Ruedi Mösching can also look back on a successful WorldSkills from the view of the Swiss in plastering and drywalling as well as in decorative painting. The Swiss painter Sandra Lüthi has brought silver. He himself coached Fabienne Niederhauser. As a stucco artist, she has earned a medal of excellence, coming in sixth place. Mösching confides that Raffael Beck, from Liechtenstein, won gold as a plasterer/drywaller. He attended Swiss vocational school and was coached by a Swiss, which is also a small victory for Switzerland.

With 20 medals this year, the team has had their greatest success of all time, which the coaches attribute to the excellent dual education system in Switzerland.