WorldSkills Update 23.09.2009

Dear *|FNAME|*,

Editorial: By Christine Scoot, Marketing & Project Coordinator, WSI

The WorldSkills International Update is one of the many informational and promotional tools that we use to inform Members, partners, volunteers and the general public about the latest activities and initiatives happening throughout the world as part of the WorldSkills organisation.

WorldSkills Calgary 2009 is over. The Competition, the 40th of its kind lived up to the expectations of being the most environmental and most media friendly Competition ever.

WorldSkills International would like to thank all of the Competitors, Experts, Delegates, Global Industry Partners, supporters and finally WorldSkills Calgary 2009, for making this event possible!

Read on for information about the Competition results, the WorldSkills Leaders Forum, One School One Country, WorldSkills TV and the next events to look forward to; General Assembly 2010 and the 3rd Youth Forum in Kingston, Jamaica and of course WorldSkills London 2011 – hope to see you there.

Together we can raise the awareness and profile of
Skills throughout the world.

Proudly supported by WorldSkills Global Industry Partners

Highlights from WorldSkills Calgary 2009

Over the next few months we will be bringing you some of the amazing, motivating, inspiring and interesting stories from WorldSkills Calgary 2009 via this WorldSkills update. We will follow up with teams, sponsors, Experts, and educators to understand the impact that WorldSkills Calgary 2009 has made on everyone that was involved - so stay tuned.

Awards and Celebrations! WSC2009 Closing Ceremony

The 40th WorldSkills Competition is officially over. The medals, awards, and certificates have all been distributed on stage to the exrtemely talented and hard working Competitors of WorldSkills Calgary 2009. Now, Competitors and Delegates have returned home to their countries/regions for some well deserved rest.

The Closing Ceremony of the 40th WorldSkills Competition was a wonderful display of energy and excitement on Sunday night, September 6, 2009. The event took place in the Corral at Stampede Park. All 45 skills announced their Champions, followed by the Best of Nation and finally the Albert Vidal Award was presented. At the end of the event, the WorldSkills International flag was passed from WorldSkills Calgary 2009 to the next Competition host, WorldSkills London 2011.

View the results of the 40th WorldSkills Competition in Calgary, Canada.

Read More

Albert Vidal Award winner, Thiam Shui Tan from Singapore

Past Champions lead the way

On Thursday, September 3, keynote speaker Don Tapscott, internationally recognized author of Wikinomics and Grown Up Digital, took the stage at the WorldSkills Leaders Forum, a luncheon event that included participants of the WorldSkills Premiere Experience. The WorldSkills Premiere Experience is designed to give Executives a true insight into the WorldSkills Experience and the inspirational success of young people involved in the Movement.

After being welcomed by the Premier of Alberta, the Honourable Ed Stelmach, Tapscott’s lecture presentation encouraged the audience to think differently about the generation that is leading our workforce today- the Net Generation. He stressed that now is a time of big change in the global workforce. As a result, the WorldSkills Movement is critical to the world economy.

For more information and to view the presentations please visit www.worldskillsleadersforum.com

Read More

WorldSkills TV was a huge ‘hit’

WorldSkills TV reached hundreds of thousands worldwide! This pilot initiative from WorldSkills Calgary 2009 (WS Calgary 2009) and WorldSkills International (WSI) was introduced in time for the 40th WorldSkills Competition. With stories from all 51 Member countries/regions and all 45 skill categories, in dozens of languages, WorldSkills TV truly represented the full WorldSkills Movement.

Overall the project was a huge success, with over 100 short videos from the Competition grounds and over 277,000 views of the videos watched throughout the world! The WorldSkills TV library is filled with new and interesting stories ready for you to watch.

Don’t miss the opportunity of witnessing the Competition for the first time or maybe even again. Go to http://wsc2009.worldskills.tv to view over 100 videos made during the 6 day event.

Communication Challenge

In the CNC Turning skill category on the last day of competition, all teams were mixed together in a team challenge. Each team had to manufacture a side on a brand new chess board. The first team who completed their half of the chess board was declared the winner! This was a challenge of skill, determination and above all communication.

Watch this story on WorldSkills TV

Cultural Ties, Opening Eyes

The One School One Country program was an exciting event that took place Tuesday, September 1.

The One School One Country program is an initiative to teach international awareness to youth. The WorldSkills Competitors and Team Leaders, visited one or two schools each, 55 local elementary and middle schools, in total, throughout Calgary, to see what young students have learned about the Competitors’ native lands.

Each school prepared a creative approach to celebrating the arrival of their special guests. From presentations, to line dancing, Competitors were given warm welcomes from keen Calgarian students.

Read More

What’s next for WorldSkills?

General Assembly 2010

By WorldSkills Jamaica

The beautiful island of Jamaica looks forward to welcoming the WorldSkills International Members to our shores in October 2010. Get ready for a delightful and unforgettable experience as you plan for WorldSkills London 2011.

The GA will be particularly special as WorldSkills International marks its 60th anniversary. Adding to the special season will be the staging of Jamaica’s 4th National Skills Competition, which all Delegates and Observers will get a chance to witness, in between the official meetings, the WorldSkills Leaders Forum and the 3rd WorldSkills Youth Forum.

This will give WorldSkills International a view of the development of Technical Vocational Education and Training in Jamaica and offer a platform to launch the expansion of skills in the Caribbean.

This prestigious event will be held in the nation’s capital. The electrifying city of Kingston. The Hilton Kingston Hotel is in the heart of the business and diplomatic district. It is just forty minutes from the Norman Manley International Airport and provides opportunities for great shopping, delightful array of food and a variety of entertainment all within walking distance.

An official website will soon be made available with more information on what promises to be a spectacular WorldSkills experience.

WorldSkills London 2011

WorldSkills London 2011 will be the 41st WorldSkills Competition and will take place from the 5 to 8 October 2011 at ExCeL London. United Kingdom (UK) has previously hosted the Competition in 1965 (Glasgow) and 1989 (Birmingham).

UK was voted host for the 2011 Competition at the WorldSkills General Assembly meeting held in Melbourne in May 2006.

WorldSkills London 2011 is supported by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills; Department of Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland; Scottish Executive; and Welsh Assembly Government.

Sponsors for WorldSkills London 2011 currently include: City & Guilds (Premier Sponsor), Festo (Premier Sponsor), Honda (Official Sponsor), L’Oreal (Sponsor) Ufi learndirect (Sponsor).

A wholly-owned subsidiary of UK Skills, WorldSkills London 2011 Ltd, has been set up with the task of running the event.

WorldSkills London 2011 took the opportunity during WorldSkills Calgary 2009 to learn as much from their Canadian counterparts as possible. By sending the majority of their staff to Calgary, they were able to shadow WorldSkills Calgary 2009 in most areas in order to learn from their experience. They also had the opportunity to speak to them about ways to improve the Competition set up and structure in time for WorldSkills London 2011.

For more information visit www.worldskillslondon2011.com

Upcoming WorldSkills Events

Do you have events that you want to see here, send them to ellen.coppens@worldskills.org.