Young workers showcase skills in vocational talent competition
Print Edition
YOUNG people from across China had an opportunity to show off their vocational skills over the weekend in a competition at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center.
The event was held to select contestants to represent China in the 44th WorldSkills Competition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in October 2017.
About 350 competitors demonstrated their vocational skills in 15 events over two days in areas including auto body repair, print media technology, electrical installation, cabinetwork and floristry.
With about 600 team leaders and judges, as well as hundreds of audience members, watching from the sidelines, the competitors had to race against the clock to complete assigned tasks.
In the restaurant service area, three people competed at a time. Wearing waiter and waitress uniforms, they served a table of four “customers.”
To make their work challenging, the customers complained about the cleanliness of their plates, forcing the competitors to take them back, clean them and graciously put them back on the table.
Service skills were important, but keeping food wastage to a minimum was also a key factor for the judges.
In the joinery area, competitors had two days to make a wooden window frame and a chair. After much sawing and hammering, two participants managed to destroy all the material they had to work with, knocking themselves out of the competition.
Across the hall, sparks flew as competitors polished car bodies with electric sanders, making it the most eye-catching part of the event.
Ding Zhipeng, from Yangpu Vocational Technical School in Shanghai, was one of the competitors. He was confident, stressing that one of his former schoolmates had won a silver medal last year in the biannual WorldSkills Competition.
Ding, a native of Anhui Province who has been living and studying in Shanghai since childhood, said he wants to make a living in the city with his parents in the future.
“I will do my best and hope I can do well enough to find a good job and get a permanent residence permit,” he told Shanghai Daily.
More challenges lie ahead. The top performers in this competition will join the national training team and the best members will represent China in Abu Dhabi next year.
The WorldSkills Competition covers 45 vocational programs, and more selection contests will be held in other cities.
It will be the fourth time China sends a delegation to the international event, which is also known as the “Olympics of manual skills for young people.”
China’s performance has been improving over the years. It won a silver medal in 2011 and took five gold, six silver, four bronze medals and 11 medallions for excellence in 2015, including two silvers won by competitors from Shanghai.
Nine Russians also took part in the competition in Shanghai as part of a skills exchange program.
“Our competitors have competed in Russia and got high marks,” said Maxim Pevin, a Russian coach in the area of electrical installation. “But they were marked by our own judges and we hope to get more objective assessments of them to see how they compare internationally. That’s an important reason for us to come here.”
An estimated 30,000 people visited Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center to watch the competition and take part in interactive activities such as making cupcakes.
A rapidly increasing number of talented, highly skilled workers are needed in Shanghai, as it transforms economically, developing into an internationally important trade, finance and shipping center, said Shanghai mayor Yang Xiong on Saturday to inaugurate the competition.
“This event provided a great opportunity to learn from other provinces,” he added. “I’m sure that the excellent performance of our competitors will encourage young people to embrace technology and develop skills.”
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