The future’s in your hands (L’avenir, c’est deux mains)
_{PRESS RELEASE
skillsbelgium  - the Belgian association for the promotion of technical and manual skills}

If we listened to little boys and girls, we’d think that the world is populated with firemen, pilots, nurses and school teachers. If we listened to their parents, there would be only doctors and lawyers. 

Because it’s urgent for us to stop pitting practical knowledge against abstract knowledge, skillsbelgium has decided to start 2010 with a promotional campaign to improve the image of vocational skills and the young people who embark on them.

These young men and women - whether technicians, cooks, roofers, Web designers, electricians, welders, mechatronic engineers, graphic designers, bricklayers, tillers, joiners or printers - are undoubtedly the key players in an economy that’s moving forward.

Being successful means, above all, doing what you love!

"Hard", "poorly paid", "not glamorous" or "too selective" - those are just some of the many clichés that the vocational skills find it hard to shake off. Dispelling these preconceived ideas, promoting valuable know-how and giving young people the keys to a carefully-chosen liberating project - these are the objectives of the promotional campaign.

The future’s in your hands (L’avenir, c’est deux mains)

• A visual: a hand ‘tattooed’ with blue biro on which several names of trades are written. A sort of memo which reminds us that there are some trades we cannot do without and which talks unequivocally about school and training.

• A slogan: “The future’s in your hands” (L’avenir, c’est deux mains), five words to promote and improve the image of these trades in a definite way by making them an integral part of the future and its opportunities. Simple, direct and meaningful language which, far from being a simplistic or pointless play on words, instantly gets the message across. In French the words “deux mains” and “demain” are homophones.

• Aimed at all target groups: young people, parents (with a particular focus on mothers), teachers trainers, and decision-makers.

• Tools varied and adapted to suit each target group:

-    A poster front/back: 200 000 copies inserted in the magazine press (Le Vif and Elle Belgique) and media linked to the professional sectors, schools and training institutions
-    A TV campaign: 3 weeks on the 12 local television channels
-    A radio campaign: 200 commercials on general-interest radio stations and “youth-mix” radio stations.
-    A postcard / badge: 25 000 copies handed out to young people at fairs and exhibitions, schools, training centres, etc.
-    A USB memory key: 1 000 copies for teachers with films presenting international WorldSkills and EuroSkills competitions.

CONTACT: www.skillsbelgium.be