2014 WorldSkills Leaders Forum in Winterthur

Tuesday 16 September 2014, WorldSkills Delegates made the journey to Winterthur, Switzerland to attend the WorldSkills Leaders Forum which was part of a larger conference programme called the International Congress on Vocational and Professional Education and Training.

Simon Bartley, WorldSkills President spoke about international benchmarking and the role that WorldSkills plays globally. Simon integrated short discussions with a Competitor, Expert, and two multi-national corporations. Nata Barbosa, a WorldSkills Champion and Gold Medallist in Web Design from Brazil shared his story with the audience. Brigitte Collins, Technical Delegate from Australia talked about her role as the former Chief Expert of Restaurant Service and the importance of meeting with Experts from around the world to share best practices and techniques. Dr. Ji Oh Song, Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor for Samsung Electronics illustrated industry's role in WorldSkills, speaking about the value of the WorldSkills network. Carl Peters, Director of Training for Lincoln Electric, talked about how industry needs to be part of the education and training process and development in WorldSkills and VET globally.

"The pairing of the WorldSkills Leaders Forum and the International Congress on Vocational and Professional Education was a great success with the opportunity for Members of WorldSkills to hear a series of presentations about the current state of play in VET worldwide. It also allowed for the parallel opportunity for countries who are not Members of WorldSkills to hear about the opportunities and benefits should they wish to join," said Simon Bartley when asked about his experience in Winterthur.