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The international championship for young professionals under the age of 26 took place in Herning, Denmark, from September 9–13. A total of 597 competitors from 32 countries, representing 38 different professions, took part. Among the 14 Czech participants was Martin Češka, who competed in CNC milling against 16 other national champions from across Europe, including Germany, France, Austria, Sweden, and Finland.

Over the course of five days, competitors were given three tasks involving the programming and machining of three models: a windmill, the Hungarian Parliament building, and the Eiffel Tower. “Judging focused on precision and quality of production, use of software, operation of the CNC machine and measuring equipment, as well as adherence to safety procedures and level of technical knowledge,” said Luboš Kroft, Martin’s coach at RTI at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at UWB and the national expert for CNC milling, who was also part of the official jury at the competition. Martin was also supported on-site by his RTI colleagues Martin Suchý and Jiří Hruška, who himself was the first Czech CNC milling representative at EuroSkills two years ago.

So how did Martin fare? While he narrowly missed out on a medal in his specific skill category, he was awarded the Best of Nation medal as the highest-scoring Czech competitor across all disciplines. And he won’t be the last to train at the RTI center. Preparations are already underway for the next Czech CNC milling representative, who will be selected through the national competition and will compete at the 2027 European Championship in Düsseldorf, Germany.

We asked Martin Češka a few questions about his training in Pilsen and his overall experience at the competition.

Martin, why did you decide to train in Pilsen, even though you live near Brno?

From the beginning, I knew I couldn’t prepare for EuroSkills from my couch at home. I realized I needed to surround myself with the best experts in the country—ideally people who had already gone through the competition themselves. That’s why I contacted the team at RTI, and for more than two years, it was absolutely worth traveling regularly to Pilsen. I approached the training with full trust—the coaches were ahead of me, and their feedback was essential to my growth.

What exactly did your training at RTI involve?

The training was intense. We simulated real competition conditions, worked under time pressure, and solved tasks from past European and world championships. It was an incredible learning experience. I went from being a guy machining basic "blocks" to working on highly complex parts—we even machined a demolition excavator and a Formula car, for example. At RTI, I learned to work properly with cutting parameters and to produce parts that were technologically accurate and efficient. Learning to cope with time pressure was another huge part of the training.

What did you gain from the competition itself?

The competition was like an accelerated learning platform. In a short amount of time, I absorbed knowledge and experience that would normally take years to acquire. Most importantly, the competition boosted my career. It opened doors to new opportunities and job offers in highly sought-after positions—ones many people can only dream of.

Will you continue working with RTI to prepare future competitors?

Luboš and I agreed that the competition is evolving quickly, and we want to keep pace with that progress. I believe this year’s performance was already a level above the last, thanks to what we learned from previous editions. Personally, I want to keep building on that trajectory. I’d like to help prepare the next competitor even better—fix the mistakes I encountered and pass on the experience I’ve gained. I’m looking forward to it.