Swiss tiler Noah Hess targets gold at WorldSkills in Shanghai
Saturday 19th September 2026 on 18:01 in
Switzerland
Swiss tiler Noah Hess will compete against the world’s top young professionals at WorldSkills 2026 in Shanghai from September 22 to 27, SRF reported. The 22-year-old from Goldau is one of 42 Swiss vocational talents taking part.
Hess has trained for the competition since the beginning of the year, both at his employer, Zinsli Plattenbeläge AG in Brunnen, and at the training halls of the Bildungspark in Dagmersellen. He spends one week there each month refining his technical skills and preparing mentally for the event.
Competitors must work for 23 hours spread across four days. “You have to divide the work steps so that you can deliver the best possible quality within the time available,” Hess said.
His trainer, Raphael Rubin, said the breaks between the work sessions were also demanding because participants had to switch quickly between delivering their best work and recovering. During training, Rubin deliberately creates unexpected problems, such as missing or suddenly replaced tiles, to test Hess’s ability to stay focused.
Rubin believes Hess has a strong chance because he remains calm under pressure. Hess finished second at the 2025 Swiss Skills competition before beating the reigning Swiss champion in an internal selection process to secure his place in Shanghai.
The tile association Ceruniq is spending around 100,000 Swiss francs on preparations, training and travel. Its managing director, Andreas Furgler, described the expense as an investment in the next generation, saying the industry lacks skilled workers. Ceruniq has sent apprentices to international vocational competitions for about 25 years.
Hess’s employer, Marcel Zinsli, said competitions such as WorldSkills could encourage young people to train in the profession. Hess said he was looking forward to experiencing the culture, meeting people and competing against the other participants.
He said his quality of work had already been strong before the training, but that he could now work better and faster. Whether that will be enough for a medal will be decided at the world championships.