Hours and superpowers: How one Competitor is preparing for WorldSkills Lyon 2024

Like all Champions preparing for the 47th WorldSkills Competition, Kai is no stranger to having his skills assessed on a public stage. He studied spray painting at college in Cape Town and earned a gold medal representing the Western Cape Province in Car Painting at the WorldSkills South Africa national competition in 2024.

The win was particularly significant for Kai. Living with a hearing impairment and being on the autism spectrum meant that Kai was home-schooled for a part of his education. Rather than letting his disability and neurodivergence hold him back, he has turned them into skills superpowers. With a single-minded focus on excelling in his skill, he has been able to harness his abilities to their fullest and turn his passion into his profession.

Kai says, “Usually, an autistic person will have one or two special interests that they completely build their world around. Few have the opportunity to make a career out of their special interest. I do, and I am very excited and grateful.”

Kai is now putting all this focus, tenacity, and determination into his preparation for WorldSkills Lyon 2024. He says he has been practising his skill “non-stop” in advance of the Competition. He admits that he has always been someone to “put in the hours” to perfect his craft. In 2022, Kai spent his entire school holidays working at an auto-body repair shop in his local area, spray-painting cars, and restoring them to their original finish.

Kai’s sights are now set on Lyon this September. But for him, it is not all about trophies and accolades. He is also excited by the other possibilities that come with entering a global competition like WorldSkills Lyon 2024. He says, “I am most looking forward to the new knowledge I will gain through this Competition, because of the places I could travel, and the new things I could experience.”

Find out more about the build-up to WorldSkills Lyon 2024 and enjoy more Champion stories.