WorldSkills unites a community to drive a movement

On day four of the 48th WorldSkills Competition, all eyes are on the 1,400 young Competitors. With the clocks counting down, each Competitor is close to finishing their Test Project. Soon the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) will be filled with cheers, tears, and joy at a job well done.

As we get ready to celebrate our WorldSkills Champions at the Closing Ceremony, it is important to recognize the millions of passionate people who believe in skills and who invest their time and resources into skills development and excellence.

Over the last few days, WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 has brought together government leaders, industry, educators, and youth to meet in person and share ideas. It has been a platform where human connections have been formed and strengthened, a place for the skills movement to continue to grow.

Borhene Chakroun, Director, Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems at UNESCO, summed it up at WorldSkills Conference 2026: “TVET is no longer homeless. It has a home here at WorldSkills. We must advance the agenda and leave no one behind. Young people need to know, we stand for you, no matter where you come from.”

This sense of community was felt by Members too. Roy Ramírez Quesada, Official Delegate, Costa Rica, valued the spirit of collaboration. He said, “One of the most powerful things about WorldSkills is its ability to connect different needs in different countries. It is an amazing network of knowledge and best practices.”

Abraham Mundengo, WorldSkills Champions Trust representative for Africa, said, “The past days have shown we are living in a global skills community. Sharing our successes and challenges is the best way to share this opportunity with more young people across the world.”

But he reminded Conference delegates that the passion for skills within the WorldSkills community is not necessarily shared outside of it. He said, “Too many young people still have to deal with the stigma that surrounds Technical and Vocational Education and Training.”

He continued, “Where I come from, when someone from TVET and someone from university are sitting together, one is a failure, one is a success. [We must] correct the narratives with parents and guardians and allow young people to freely, willingly decide. If we can do that, the benefit of that is huge.”

Jingyi Lu, WorldSkills Champions Trust representative for Asia, called on the skills community to come together to build a new TVET system. In her speech at the closing of the Conference, she said, “The way skilled people think, with their hands, with their minds, with their hearts, deserves to be cultivated. They are the builders, the creators, the innovators. Our systems must stop reinforcing old beliefs about what a dream life looks like.” 

WorldSkills Vision 2035, which was approved this week at the General Assembly, sets out a roadmap to shift these deep-rooted attitudes. David Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International, says the first step is to unite people around a human-first, skills-first mindset.

He explains, “We all need skills and skilled professionals and yet we do not value them equally. We believe that the only way to grow our skills movement is to first recognize that our security and prosperity depend on skills. That way we can find our common ground. Then we must work together to share ideas, technologies, connections, and standards so we can all benefit from systems underpinned by excellence.”

Today, the Competition ends and the community looks forward to the Closing Ceremony. When everyone heads home, the challenges they face in their own countries and regions will still be there, but they will return with greater knowledge, more confidence, and allies to help them tackle the complex problems of the world.

Learn more about the WorldSkills community, its Members and its Partners.