THE winners of the China International Skills Competition 2017 will be announced at a prize-giving and closing ceremony in Shanghai tonight.

Over the last two days, 227 contestants from 35 countries and regions competed in 21 events.

It is the largest international skills competition ever held in China, and is expected to provide a platform for members of WorldSkills International, a global organization that promotes skills excellence and development. Participants share their experiences and enhance friendship and learn from each other in a win-win benefit for all.
Shanghai hosted 15 events including joinery, hairdressing, restaurant service, mobile robotics and electronics at the World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center.

Joinery is believed to be one of the strengths of China with its long history. The earliest well-known master craftsman was Lu Ban. But in the WorldSkills Competition, China is a new player. It will participate in a joinery event of the WorldSkills Competition for the first time in October in Abu Dhabi.

China joined the WSI membership in 2010 and started participating in WorldSkills Competition from 2011.

“Traditional Chinese joinery is quite different from the western style, which is the competition style,” said Zhang Julang from Shanghai City Science and Technology School, a vocational school.

“Traditional Chinese joinery relies on handicrafts while the western style prefers machines,” he added. “No traditional carpenter can win this competition as they have to spend one or two weeks to make the window, but the competition requires them to finish it in two days with high precision.”

Zhang said there was also a lot for China to learn from the other countries, such as the norms and manners.

“For example, participants have to put away their devices during breaks,” he said. “It’s a good thing in terms of security.”

Promising career in joinery

Zhang said joinery was a promising career as more and more people in modern society wanted customized products of high quality. Joinery workshops are also popular among young people who enjoy the process of turning wood into all kinds of trendy appliances by their own hands.

“It’s like Lego and other recreational choices for them,” he said. “The price of such programs is also rising. I know that a two-week training program is very popular although it costs 40,000 yuan. That means the traditional handicrafts are still attractive for young people, especially when it merges with modern technology. It also gives them another career opportunity.”

Zhang said a student from his school had picked up joinery at a student club and was hooked on to it. He is now one of the two prospective candidates to represent China at the WorldSkills Competition in Abu Dhabi in October. A decision on which one makes to Abu Dhabi will be announced at the end of this month.

As many of the participants competing in Shanghai this week will compete in the WorldSkills Competition in Abu Dhabi in October, it is also an opportunity for them to test their own skills and prepare for the event which is known as the “Olympics of Skills.” The Shanghai event was organized in the same model.

“It was the first time for us in Shanghai and also the first time to participate in an international competition,” said Abdelhadi Hibot, a Moroccan who competed in mobile robotics.

“This competition is helpful for us as we can get experience about international competition, meeting other competitors and other experts, so that we are not scared at the next competition,” he added.

Hibot participated in Shanghai with his teammate Mohammed Hminat.

Contestants are required to design, build and maintain robots to solve problems in industries. During the competition in Shanghai, each pair was required to design and build porter robot and demonstrate its functions in moving boxes through teleoperation and automatic modes respectively.

The robots can not only move forward and backward and rotate, but also pick up boxes from shelves and put them on tables. These are done by both remote control and automatically.

Mobile robotics is a fast-evolving field with applications in diverse industries, including manufacturing, agriculture, aerospace, mining, and medicine, said Vasco Vaz, a Portuguese expert.

“Robotics engineers need to know both mechanical and programing skills, as well as a little bit of electronics,” he said.

He also said it would be normal to use robots everywhere in the future, making robotics engineering as a promising career.

Different development levels

But he also pointed out that the development levels were different in different countries.

“Germany has traditionally been a strong competitor in this area, having won the gold prize several times. China is also good but needs a little bit more effort,” he said. “But it is the first time that Paraguay is participating in this competition. They don’t know the rules. They didn’t bring their robots. But we have other countries with a lot of students, with a lot of equipment and know exactly what we are assessing.”

Competitions like the WorldSkills Competition are helpful in promoting skills in countries lagging behind. It is one of the most important missions of WorldSkills International, said Vaz.

The Shanghai competition also changed many people’s ideas about vocational skills.

“Many people think hairdressing is not a technical job, but actually it is,” said Ji Zhengrong, the chief expert in hairdressing. “One single competitor has to master the skills of cutting, styling, treating, and coloring hair for both men and women in a work environment that ranges from homes and salons to film and television productions,” he said.

China won a gold prize at the WorldSkills Competition in 2015. The winner, Nie Feng, was promoted to associate professor at her school in Chongqing City last year and has been granted special subsidy by the state council, Ji said.

“Hairdressing plays a practical role in everyday life while people’s demand for hairdressing service is growing rapidly with an upturn in the living standards and globalization,” he said. “WorldSkills Competition provided a platform for our professionals to learn from the world.”

The World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center also hosted several interactive programs such as driving high-speed train, paper cutting and pastry.

“The competition is helpful in promoting vocational education in our country,” said Wang Zhiwei, principal of the Shanghai Public Utility School, which provided technical support for the electrical installation competition and for the interactive program on high-speed rail during the competition.

“They help us to be in the spotlight and let more parents and children know more about us,” he said. “Though we are a secondary vocation school, our graduates have high demand in the job market.”

“Take the high-speed rail major for example. The school taught everything from construction to operation and maintenance and its graduates are highly in demand by the Shanghai Railway Bureau and its counterparts in neighboring provinces,” said Wang.

“We need more students in this field as the industry is growing domestically and internationally,” he said. “I’m looking forward to that at the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai in 2021. It will give a boost to vocational education and training in China.”