6 January 2014
French Minister of Labour visits WorldSkills working group
By WorldSkills France
In 2007, the Carpentry skill was put on notice by WorldSkills as not enough countries/regions were taking part in the skill. To save the skill from disappearing from the Competition, a thorough reworking of the Technical Description was undertaken, which resulted in substantial changes to the Test Project. As a result of this work, more countries/regions were able to register Competitors to this skill, as it again reflected the needs of their respective industries and the training given to their Competitors in their national training programs. In 2011, the same happened in the Architectural Stonemasonry skill, which was undergoing substantial changes in all corners of the world.
As can be seen through the examples of Carpentry and Architectural Stonemasonry, the WorldSkills Competition is a mirror of what happens in skills and industries worldwide.
Currently, the only criterion to admit a new skill into the Competition is the number of participating countries/regions. To ensure that WorldSkills continues to fulfill its role of reflecting skills and their evolution on a worldwide level, this criterion has to be expanded. This seems important, especially in view of the changing needs of the industry worldwide in terms of work places, and the training that will have to be provided by the training sector to fill the needs of the industry in the future.
The “What is a Skill?” working group gathered 17 representatives from 13 Member countries/regions of WorldSkills International in Paris from 16-18 December to work on this issue and prepare a proposal to be discussed and submitted to the General Assembly of WorldSkills in 2014. The meeting, organized by WorldSkills France, was hosted by the French Ministry of Labour, and delegates enjoyed a surprise visit from Michel SAPIN, French Minister of Labour, Employment, Vocational Training and Social Dialog, who came to encourage the participants in their work.