Barbora Svobodová and Denis Sobotka from Brno are Czech gas fitters of the year. Students from Pardubice and Nitra also reach the podium

The winners of the 2025 International High School Gas Fitter of the Year competition have been announced: students Barbora Svobodová and Denis Sobotka from the Secondary School of Building Trades in Brno-Bosonohy took gold.For the first time in the competition’s history, a girl has won the title. Second place went to students from the Secondary Technical School of Gas Engineering in Pardubice, while the Slovak team from the Secondary School of Construction in Nitra took the bronze medal. The third edition of the trades competition was held at the Brno Building Fair and brought together nine two-person teams from Czechia and Slovakia. The aim was to recognize the most talented students of gas engineering and related fields, showcase study opportunities to the public, and highlight the Czech gas industry at a time of growing interest in gas.

Students competed not only in their theoretical knowledge but also, above all, in practical gas-fitting skills, such as installing a polyethylene gas service line connected to a gas meter or pressing copper joints and connecting them to a gas boiler.

The competition’s third edition challenged traditional stereotypes: for the first time, a girl made it to the final – Barbora Svobodová, a third-year student of gas equipment mechanics at the Secondary School of Building Trades in Brno-Bosonohy. She and her classmate Denis Sobotka also won this year’s title:

“We’re proud of everything we can do in the gas-fitting trade, and of our teachers and school. Being a girl studying gas fitting is still unusual. But I’m glad I’m helping pave the way for future female students, whom I’d like to tell: If you enjoy something, go for it—follow your heart,” says Barbora.

Czech energy needs a new generation of gas fitters

Petr Zajíček, director of specialist works at GasNet, the largest gas distribution group in Czechia, which was the competition’s main partner, draws attention to this fact:

At the event, GasNet also showcased technological innovations, including a mobile gas transfer compressor mounted on a TATRA 8x8 vehicle. It helps the company minimize the amount of gas vented from the distribution network during technical operations such as pipeline reconstruction or repairs, and allows some of this work to be carried out without interrupting supplies to customers.

Skilled trades are worth their weight in gold

Gas Fitter of the Year 2025 was part of “Masters of Everyday Life,” a multidisciplinary secondary school competition organized by the Secondary School of Building Trades in Brno-Bosonohy. At the Brno Building Fair, students from other fields also competed in their professional skills, including carpenters, upholsterers, bricklayers and sheet-metal workers.

“There is a shortage of professionally trained tradespeople in the labor market, so it’s true now more than ever that skilled trades are worth their weight in gold. Employers are keen to hire our students. The same is true of graduates in gas equipment mechanics,” concludes Jiří Košťál, director of the Secondary School of Building Trades in Brno-Bosonohy.