The plaster is meant to be painted, why are you wanting to remove it. A skim coat usually doesnt have much texture anyway. In any case, I would say no, you would end up with a mess.

One of the advantages of veneer plaster is that paint primers adhere to it unusually well. You might need to sand it being careful to not remove too much which would be diffiult since veneer plaster is thin and hard by design. I've never seen a texture in veneer plaster but sanding would remove it. If you like the appearance of unfinished plaster dull the paint and add another plaster coat assuming the contractor is confident it will work. A texture might prevent that approach.