8 October 2020
Korea provides insights into how to host a skills competition in 2020
After delaying local skill competitions due to the pandemic, Korea recently hosted 5,550 participants in 50 skills, at 129 venues in 17 cities. This was leading up to their 55th National Skills Competition hosted in September, featuring 50 skills.
Best practices on how new guidelines were integrated into the Competitions are captured in their video to help others plan their own skills competitions.
With English subtitles, the video shows both Experts and Competitors in the event, adapting to social distancing and new health protocols.
The hours of hard work by the young Competitors were why a decision was made not to cancel the Competition, organizers say, with fears that they would lose motivation.
The national skills competition followed local competitions, with the winners selected for the WorldSkills Korea team to take part in WorldSkills Shanghai 2021.
Strict social distancing was observed along with precautions to prevent infection that included disinfecting surfaces, digital thermometers, hand sanitizers, and, of course, face masks at all times.
Isolation rooms were also set up for anyone who felt the symptoms of COVID-19.
What was missing were the large numbers of visitors to the national competition, with attendance this year strictly limited to officials.
In the end, the video reflects the determination of all participants to take part in next year’s contest.
As Seung Lyul Ryu, Web Technology Expert, puts it, “All of you are having a hard day, and we are having a hard day. We are socially far from each other, but thanks to these skills, we believe we can keep our hearts warm.”