Skills competitions offer solid support for China's high-quality development

Team China bagged 36 gold, nine silver and four bronze medals at the 47th WorldSkills Competition recently held in Lyon, France, securing the top spot in the gold medal count, the overall medals chart and the total team score.

Chinese competitor excelled in Water Technology, which requires expertise in chemistry, biology and electrical engineering. Achieving dimensional tolerance of plus or minus 0.002 millimeters, Chinese competitor secured the championship in Computer Numerical Control Milling. China also took the crown in Automobile Technology, which was a result of the hard work of the Chinese competitor - devoting 14 hours in training a day.

A competitor competes in drone assembly and troubleshooting during the second Belt and Road International Skills Competition at the Chongqing International Expo Center, southwest China's Chongqing municipality, June 25, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Sun Kaifang)

The WorldSkills Competition is the highest-level, largest, and most influential vocational skills event, representing the world's advanced standards in skill development. It was the seventh time for Chinese competitors to join the event, and their performance exactly highlighted the improvement in China's capabilities in vocational skill and the quality of the country's talent pool.

Sixty-eight Chinese participants joined all 59 categories of the event, both the highest for the Chinese delegation. They made a new high in the number of gold medals won, with some of them honored with the prestigious Albert Vidal Award.

The age of Chinese competitors averaged 22, and many of them, who were first-timers to the event, secured top places. This reflected an enormous potential of China's talents.

Under the guidance of the WorldSkills Competition, China is hosting various types of skills competitions at all levels, improving the skills competition system with Chinese characteristics. These competitions offer a platform where skilled talents can demonstrate their skills and exchange with each other, and encourage laborers to further improve their skills, playing a positive role in promoting employment and talent cultivation.

Skills competitions promote success through skill development and encourage participants to contribute to their country. They inspire young people to pursue their vocational dreams.

Participants compete at a barista skills competition held in Kunshan, east China's Jiangsu province, Aug. 31, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Yuan Xinyu)

Zhang Yupeng, who won the gold medal in Jewellery at the 47th WorldSkills Competition, believes that skills help people build a better future and it's completely possible to achieve success through skill development. Silver medal winner of the event's Welding category Hu Zehong also aspired to realize his ideal with his skills.

Grounded in reality and honing a specific skill, individuals can excel in any profession and make significant contributions.

In recent years, China has actively promoted skill competitions, reflecting a societal emphasis on valuing skills, utilizing skills, and respecting skills.

Serving as a guiding light, these competitions help more people, especially the youth, recognize that "those with skills can achieve success." This strengthens their professional identity and reinforces the belief that possession of skills leads to good employment, and mastery of high-level skills leads to even better opportunities.

Skills competitions are closely aligned with the needs of economic and social development, promoting a better match between job supply and demand. At this year's WorldSkills Competition, six categories, including Renewable Energy and Robot Systems Integration, made their debut, reflecting new hotspots and trends in industrial transformation and upgrading.

Dishes are displayed at a cooking skills competition held in a park in Peng'an county, Nanchong, southwest China's Sichuan province, Sept. 20, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Peng Shengzhou)

Currently, with the accelerated development of new quality productive forces, the emergence of new industries, technologies, and professions are placing higher demands on workers' skill levels. Skill competitions dynamically adjust to industry demands, effectively guiding educational institutions and enterprises to recognize market changes and employment opportunities, thus cultivating new types of skilled talents.

For example, some vocational schools in south China's Guangdong province have integrated WorldSkills Competition standards into teaching activities, opening new majors based on new competition categories. This approach enhances students' professional skills and better helps with their employment.

This year, a wide range of skills competitions have been hosted across China, including the National Rural Revitalization Vocational Skills Competition, Belt and Road International Skills Competition, and Yellow River Basin Vocational Skills Competition, creating a strong atmosphere for skill development.

Soon, the 48th WorldSkills Competition will take place in Shanghai, which is expected to nurture even more high-level skilled talents.