Ireland to host WorldSkills General Assembly 2023

One of WorldSkills oldest Members, Ireland, will host WorldSkills General Assembly 2023 from 24 to 29 September 2023 at Clayton Hotel Burlington Road in Dublin.

Held every two years between the WorldSkills Competition, the General Assembly brings together the Member countries and regions of WorldSkills as well as Global Partners for a week-long series of meetings and discussions. Due to global disruption caused by the pandemic, all General Assemblies since WorldSkills Kazan 2019 have been held online. Participants will now convene in person in the city of Dublin, where General Assembly 2020 was planned to take place.

Alongside the WorldSkills General Assembly, the event includes supporting meetings including the WorldSkills Competition and Strategic Development Committees, Global Partners, Skills Development in Africa, and the Marketing and Communications Working Group.

WorldSkills Ireland Conference 2023

As part of the General Assembly programme, a half-day Conference hosted by WorldSkills Ireland is set to take place on 26 September. Co-organized by WorldSkills and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland, the Conference will be open to all participants of WorldSkills General Assembly 2023, as well as national stakeholders.

The event will explore how apprenticeships can be leveraged to help skills systems support the rapid transformations in the world of work.

With the title ‘Transforming skills systems for Industry 5.0’, the Conference highlights how other international bodies, such as the European Commission, are evolving the discussion from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0, which focuses on the green transition, inclusivity, and wellbeing. Where Industry 4.0 focused on integrating technology such as the Internet of Things and big data, Industry 5.0 prioritizes the human, environmental, and social aspects of building economies.

The Conference will look at megatrends, best practices, international recommendations, and youth perspectives with the goal of providing guidance to attending WorldSkills Member countries and regions, policymakers, VET providers, and industry on the future of skill development.

Apprenticeships: from national to global perspectives

Hosting the event in Ireland provides an opportunity to highlight and learn from the recent substantive evolution in Ireland’s apprenticeship system from some of its highest-level stakeholders.

“In less than five years, Ireland has moved from 27 apprenticeship offerings to 66, with 30 more in development and a recruitment target of 10,000 new apprentice registrations per year. Apprenticeships are now offered across Levels 6 to 10 on the Irish qualifications system (QQI), which is from Advanced Certificate to PhD level,” explains Ray English, WorldSkills Ireland Chair and Technical Delegate, and Head of Mechanical Engineering Apprenticeships at Technological University Dublin.

With the support of the WorldSkills Conference Coalition, a panel including officials from UNESCO-UNEVOC, the World Bank, the International Labour Organization, Global Partner Festo, and representatives from the WorldSkills Champions Trust will then reflect on the global challenges and opportunities.

“Hosting the Conference alongside the General Assembly is an opportunity to allow wider engagement with WorldSkills Members, their education and training systems, and Ireland’s education and training educators and officials,” said Mr English.

BeChangeMaker 2023 finale

Before heading for a networking lunch, the morning discussions will conclude with the finale of BeChangeMaker 2023.

BeChangeMaker is a popular social entrepreneurship programme organized by WorldSkills and the HP Foundation since 2017.

The top five teams in this year's programme will pitch their social business ideas providing another opportunity for attendees to discover how skilled youth hold the key to a better future.

Find the full programme of WorldSkills General Assembly 2023, and the updated lists of sessions and speakers at the Conference on the WorldSkills General Assembly 2023 website.