The hydrogen future of gas: Czech students to compete for international Gas Technician of the Year 2024 title

The final of the Gas Technician of the Year 2024 competition for secondary school students kicks off at Brno Exhibition Centre on Thursday, April 25, at 11 am. The event is being held with international participation for the first time in its second year: alongside students from seven Czech schools, secondary school students from Slovakia will also compete for the title. The competition will be open to the public as part of the Building Fair in Pavilion A2. „Gas will replace coal as it is phased out, and Czechia will need more trained gas technicians. That’s why we’ll give visitors a practical introduction to the gas industry, the study opportunities it offers, and how we are preparing Czechia for renewable gases: hydrogen and biomethane,“ says Petr Zajíček of GasNet, the competition’s general partner.

The Gas Technician of the Year event is part of the multidisciplinary secondary school competition Masters of Everyday Life, organised by Střední škola stavebních řemesel Brno-Bosonohy. Students from other trades, including carpenters, upholsterers, bricklayers and tinsmiths, will also compete in their professional skills at the Building Fair in Brno.

Skilled trades offer a bright future

The competition aims to recognise the most talented students and raise the profile of vocational education. „There is a shortage of professionally trained tradespeople in the labour market, so the saying that a skilled trade pays dividends really rings true today. Employers are keen to hire our students, and they are virtually guaranteed a good job. The same is true of graduates of the gas equipment technician programme,“ says Roman Komínek, deputy head of Střední škola stavebních řemesel Brno-Bosonohy. The gas industry in particular expects demand for trained professionals in the coming years.

Source: GasNet

GasNet: We can’t do without new gas technicians. We’re preparing Czechia for hydrogen

 „The gas industry is on the brink of its biggest transformation since the Industrial Revolution. We can expect a renaissance for gas—and not just natural gas,“ says Petr Zajíček, director of specialist works at GasNet, the largest gas distributor in Czechia. He points out that gas supplies to Europe have been diversified and prices stabilised, and that lower-emission gas will gradually replace coal as it is phased out—not only in large power plants. At the same time, the European gas industry is preparing for the gradual replacement of natural gas with renewable gases—biomethane and hydrogen.

„We recently connected our sixth biomethane production plant to the distribution network, and our long-term goal is to replace natural gas with clean hydrogen. We plan to showcase pilot hydrogen projects as early as this year. The next generation of gas technicians will therefore be key to Czech energy. To attract new gas technicians, we support secondary school students with scholarships and paid work placements, and are introducing advanced gas industry courses for students in technical fields. Visitors can find out more at the Gas Technician of the Year event,“ says Petr Zajíček, inviting the public to the Building Fair.

Source: GasNet

Experts can advise you on choosing a trade. Only 17% of vocational school graduates fear being replaced by AI

Two-person teams from a total of eight schools will compete for the Gas Technician of the Year title at the fair:

• Střední škola stavebních řemesel Brno-Bosonohy
• Střední odborné učiliště plynárenské Pardubice
• Střední škola řemesel Frýdek-Místek
• Střední škola ESOZ Chomutov
• Střední škola polytechnická Kyjov
• Střední škola řemesel, Šumperk
• Střední odborná škola Jarov, Praha
• Stredná odborná škola stavebná, Nitra

The competition will begin with a closed event on April 24 at Střední škola stavebních řemesel Brno-Bosonohy and culminate in a public finalon April 25 at the Building Fair in Brno. Students will take on gas industry challenges from 11 am to 5 pm in Pavilion A2. Teachers and energy experts will be available to the public at the venue from Wednesday, April 24, to Friday, April 26.

„Since gas technicians will be showcasing their work alongside other trades at the exhibition centre, the event will be a good opportunity to learn more about studying for the profession. Choosing the right course of study is not easy, especially at a time when many office jobs are at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI). Manual trades, on the other hand, should be relatively immune to the rise of AI. They continue to offer valuable career prospects for the future,“ explains teacher Roman Komínek.

This is also borne out by a survey conducted this year by the GasNet Group among young graduates of vocational secondary schools and trade schools, using Instant Research by Ipsos. Just 17% of graduates fear that artificial intelligence will replace them at work. A significant proportion (38%), on the other hand, can imagine AI making their jobs easier in the future. Already, 28% of young vocational graduates use it regularly at work.

„When it comes to individual professions, graduates believe that tradespeople and those who maintain technological equipment have the least to fear for their jobs. Gas technicians are among them,“ concludes Petr Zajíček.

Gas Technician of the Year 2024

The international secondary school competition is organised by Střední škola stavebních řemesel Brno-Bosonohy. Its general partner is GasNet Group, the largest gas distributor in Czechia. The partners are: South Moravian Region, COVpS JMK, České ručičky, NET4GAS, Pražská plynárenská, HUTIRA, FASTRA, SEPSafe, Gas Storage CZ, ENBRA, Thermona, Berner and Lesensky.cz.