Shape Your Future: Luxembourg bets on vocational education

On 22 April 2025, the Minister of Education, Childhood and Youth, Claude Meisch, together with the four key professional chambers in Luxembourg - the Chamber of Employees, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Chamber of Crafts and the Chamber of Agriculture - launched the Shape Your Future campaign. The aim is to rethink the role of vocational education and training and restore its former prestige.

The project announced in the 2023-2028 coalition agreement reflects the authorities' desire to change the perception of vocational pathways among young people. Its message is clear: education based on practical skills and individual talents is not a backup, but a full-fledged path to a successful career.

The uniqueness of the campaign lies in its targeting and visual language. Everything from the videos to the social media speaks to young people in their own voice. The centre of the campaign is a video clip featuring four young students who have chosen to study in a field close to their hobbies and interests. On the advertising posters, as well as on TikTok and Instagram, these young people become ambassadors of professions, sharing their experience and enthusiasm.

Among them are Siri Bettendorf, future chef, and Marcel Fekete, apprentice car mechanic, who personally spoke at the press conference and explained how training helps unlock potential.

A key tool is the www.shapeyourfuture.lu website, where users are guided through an interactive video quiz that allows them to identify a field suitable for a particular young person through a series of questions. There is also a section with frequently asked questions, information for parents and employers, and information on government services that can be contacted to find apprenticeships.

The public launch of the campaign will take place at YEP! - Schoulfoire 2025, where a unified stand of all partners of the initiative will be located in Hall 9.

Once the young people have been inspired by the examples of their peers, the next step is to convince employers. The organisers want to show that training apprentices is not a burden, but a strategic investment in a skilled and loyal workforce. This is how Carlo Thelen, Director General of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, characterised it.

The positions of all campaign partners agree: vocational education is not an alternative to an academic path, but an equitable and often more flexible and practice-oriented choice.

Sylvain Hoffmann from the Chamber of Employees emphasises that it is a way to get skills officially recognised and to develop both professional and personal qualities. Tom Wirion of the Chamber of Crafts notes that through crafts training, young people can see their skills grow on a daily basis. Paul Marceul from the Chamber of Agriculture sees not only a professional but also a social meaning in the project: intergenerational solidarity and a sectoral bridge to a common sustainable future.

The Shape Your Future campaign is much more than an image project. It is an attempt at an institutional and cultural shift in a country where the academic model of education has traditionally prevailed. It builds a dialogue between youth, government and business, and offers concrete tools for choosing a profession. In the context of digitalisation and skills shortages - it is initiatives like this that are becoming crucial for the competitiveness of countries.