14 February 2011
My Skills, My Pride
By WorldSkills Singapore
Beaming with pride, some fighting back tears, the winners of WorldSkills Singapore 2011 were crowned at the Closing Ceremony on January 26, 2011 after three days of intense competition. The excitement and joy of the finalists and the pride of their family members, friends and coaches were all too evident as the winners strode to the stage to take their place among the winners.
This year’s National Competition, held from January 20-22, 2011, celebrates skills excellence and encourages Competitors to take pride in their skills. Themed ‘My Skills, My Pride’, the Competition would decide who would have the honour of representing the nation at the 41st WorldSkills Competition in London this October.
From eight skill areas in 1994, the WorldSkills Singapore Competition has grown to 18, and the participation rate has tripled over the years. “The growth of the Competition reflects the increasing diversity and interest in skills training offered by ITE and the Polytechnics to meet growing industry demand for quality skills,” shared Mr. Bruce Poh, Singapore’s Official Delegate to WorldSkills International (WSI), and Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Technical Education (ITE).
The Competition was declared open by Singapore’s Senior Minister, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, who very aptly shared how skilled vocations remain vital to a society. “Many skilled technical jobs cannot be outsourced. When a car breaks down, you need a local mechanic to fix it. When you want to cut or colour your hair, you need a local hairdresser. As our population ages, we will need more caregivers and nurses to take care of our parents and grandparents. These and other skills will be tested in today’s WorldSkills Singapore Competition.”
For Competitors the participation in WorldSkills Singapore 2011 is an adventure of a lifetime. Samuel Lee Meng Lin of ITE and gold medallist in Cooking, said “The two months of training we had was strenuous, yet worthwhile. I have learnt to be more organised and manage my time better. Perseverance and hard work are the keys to success!”
“Keeping ourselves going in top gear was the toughest part of the Competition, but with the support and friendship from our coaches and friends, we were able to overcome the odds and prove to ourselves we can!” said Sheena Ramazanu of Nanyang Polytechnic, the silver medallist in Caring.
Besides the opportunity to view the competitions up-close, the visitors to the three-day competition also had a wide array of student projects and technology showcase by students from the Colleges of ITE, Polytechnics and Industry. Ranging from Humanoid Robot Demonstration to Immersive Interactive Games, visitors were able to try their hand at the various exhibits. For the first time in the history of the Competition, guest student bloggers were introduced to cover the event from start to finish, taking photographs, reporting and uploading interesting site activities onto our very own WorldSkills Singapore 2011 Facebook Page.
The closure of WorldSkills Singapore 2011 marks the beginning of a new journey for the Competitors of Team Singapore, who will be traveling to London in October. Bringing this emotion of “Pride” with them, we hope that they will fly the Singapore flag high.
For more information please visit WorldSkills Singapore.