WorldSkills Champion launches skills-to-income programme

When Md Shabbir Hossain Ridoy stepped onto the Bakery workshop floor to represent his country at WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition, he was only thinking about demonstrating his technical skills to the best of his ability. He could not have imagined the success that lay ahead of him, thanks to his personal determination and his WorldSkills training.

Fast-forward four years, and 21-year-old Ridoy is now the owner of his own training business, and on the brink of launching a new community-led initiative that helps people in Bangladesh learn the baking and business skills they need to establish their own enterprises.

Looking back, Ridoy credits his success to being part of the WorldSkills movement. He says, “I have turned my limited beginnings into a limitless passion for mastering the art of pastry. WorldSkills not only shaped my professional journey but also inspired me to create impact within my community.”

Ridoy’s life began on the streets of one of Kushtia’s most disadvantaged communities. This difficult start in life motivated him to turn his passion for baking into a chance to excel professionally as well as find ways to use his skills to support other disadvantaged people.

This purpose saw Ridoy earn the Best of Nation award for Bangladesh at WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition, where the Bakery competition was held in Lucerne. He describes the Competition as a “life-changing experience.” After returning from Switzerland, he realised that he wanted to pay his success forward and has spent the last four years using his skill to empower others.

Ridoy started by setting up “Ridoy Bake House”, a baking content platform on YouTube where he offers online masterclasses in bread, cakes and pastry, and features techniques in piping and cake decoration. The platform has grown into an online culinary community where fellow bakers share recipes, tips, and ask questions of each other to improve their skill. He extended this training to in-person classes and, to date, his training has reached over 10,000 students across the globe.

Ridoy says that he particularly focuses his efforts on female students in Bangladesh, many of whom are homemakers with little prior access to professional training. For these students, he has offered free online courses and a number of his graduates have gone on to set up their own home-based businesses, gaining financial independence.

He has not stopped developing his own skills and career either. This year, Ridoy was awarded a Gold Medal in Advanced Floral Piping at the World Cake Artistry Award in the Maldives and his work has also been featured in Delicious Magazine in the United Kingdom, in a section dedicated to artists creating masterpieces in their field.

Now Ridoy is preparing to take his mission to a new level. His latest initiative, “Zero 2 Hero Bangladesh: Skills to Income”, aims to train 10,000 students and guide them towards becoming independent entrepreneurs. The curriculum goes beyond technical skills. Participants will receive training in digital marketing and business management, helping them not only practise their craft but also build a sustainable business.

The training will begin as one month of intensive technical training, followed by six months of dedicated monitoring to support their transition from training to income generation. Four graduates from Ridoy’s earlier programmes will support these students as mentors.

He says, “Our goal is to empower through skills and ensure financial independence. For me, this idea is deeply personal as it speaks to my own life and how skills have helped me thrive.”

He goes on to share how excited he is to deliver this programme with some of his past students. He reflects, “Like me, that have seen firsthand the struggles of people who lack opportunities. Which is why our dream with this programme is to lift up those who are falling behind in society.”

The initiative launches in June and the first cohort will begin their training in September. Ridoy intends to market the training specifically to women, young people at the start of their careers, and underprivileged individuals eager to start from zero.

As WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 draws closer, Ridoy’s story is an inspiring reminder that competitions are just the beginning. His success shows that the true value of WorldSkills lies in the legacy that lives beyond the workshop floor, in every individual, community, and society that benefits from the impact of skills.

Learn more about the skills and Champions that make up the WorldSkills community.