The WorldSkills Archive: preserving the legacy of the global stage for skills

For 75 years, WorldSkills has set the stage for young professionals to shine. Behind every milestone lies a legacy, and the WorldSkills Archive is its home.

Launched online in September 2024 with an initial collection of 1,844 items, the WorldSkills Archive now features over 3,000 documents, graphic works, audiovisuals, objects, and reports. It is a valuable resource not only for WorldSkills Members exploring the history of the WorldSkills movement in their countries and regions, but also for journalists, researchers, and the wider public interested in skills development.

The WorldSkills Archive adheres to international best practices, ensuring that anyone can explore its contents under fair and equal conditions, reflecting a strong commitment to transparency, access, and inclusion.

Its goal is to build a lasting home for the stories, materials, and milestones that have shaped WorldSkills over the decades. By preserving and sharing everything from historic photos and reports to rare objects and videos, the Archive helps keep the cultural and institutional heritage of the movement alive and accessible for generations to come.

Developed alongside the WorldSkills Museum, the Archive serves as the primary source of content for the Museum’s exhibitions and displays. While the Museum brings the WorldSkills story to life for visitors in Shanghai, the Archive holds the depth of that story – a rich foundation for future exhibitions, documentaries, publications, and research projects that explore and celebrate the history of WorldSkills and of skills development.

“Being part of WorldSkills is always a positive experience – for Competitors, Experts, Delegates… everyone walks away enriched. But it’s also important to know where we come from. Understanding the journey, everything that’s happened, strengthens our impact and brings us together as a community,” says Nuria Portland, Event Operations Manager, who has led the creation and development of the WorldSkills Archive. “The Archive fosters that connection and also promotes transparency: you can read meeting minutes from decades ago, see how decisions were made, how the organization has evolved. It’s not only about the story of one person, it’s the shared history of everyone who has been part of WorldSkills for different reasons.”

The WorldSkills Archive currently offers four types of resources:

• Database: A searchable catalogue of all items processed to date, which can be filtered by parameters such as date, skill, host country, or source country.
• Reports: A section gathering research and historical reports produced by the Archive team or external contributors.
• Resources: A curated list of materials on the history of WorldSkills available through other archives and sources.
• Lexicon: A glossary defining all fields in the database and providing a framework to facilitate research.

The work of building the WorldSkills Archive is ongoing. The team is currently processing a large collection of non-catalogued items – more than twice the number already available online. Anyone researching the history of the WorldSkills movement, and of technical and vocational education and training can reach out to the team for specific queries.

“As we continue to uncover and preserve the history of our movement, we invite the entire WorldSkills community to contribute. Whether it’s documents, photos, memorabilia, or stories, every item helps enrich the collective memory of WorldSkills and inspire future generations,” adds Nuria Portland.

The WorldSkills Archive team welcomes enquiries and contributions.