WorldSkills Leipzig 2013, the Olympics for skilled youth

"And the gold medal goes to: Republic of Korea!" An enthusiastic crowd of thousands of spectators heard this twelve times in the closing ceremony of the World Skills competition 2013. Highly skilled young women and men between the age of 17 and 22 from 53 countries had competed for five days in 46 skills. And 200,000 visitors came to watch them demonstrate their skills at the Leipzig fairgrounds, the majority of them school children. Who would have thought that wall and floor tiling can be so exciting to watch? And yet it was: the winner 2013 is Thomas Liebenauer from Austria. Asked about his career aspirations, he says: "After winning the Gold medal in Leipzig, I plan to start a new company."

Every two years, hundreds of young skilled people from all over the world, accompanied by teachers and trainers, come together to evaluate themselves against international benchmarks in six skill sectors: Transportation and Logistics, Construction and Building Technology, Manufacturing and Engineering Technology, Information and Communication Technology, Creative Arts and Fashion, and Social and Personal Services.

Audrey Foo from Singapore won the gold medal in health and social care. She is pursuing a nursing diploma and had to demonstrate her skills in three scenarios under a different care setting each day. She also had to sit for a daily theory test in which participants needed to answer every question correctly. She hopes to be an Advanced Practice Nurse in the future so that she can care for patients and also “be a voice” for her fellow nurses. More

Country representatives praised their young workers: "The winners of this competition can contribute directly to the initiative undertaken by Malaysia to develop workers of an international standard," Deputy Human Resource Minister Datuk Ismail Abdul Muttalib said when sending off his national team to Leipzig. Mark Callaghan, the WorldSkills Australia chief executive, took pride in 4 medals and 14 Medallions of excellence won by the Australian team: "We officially have some of the world’s best-skilled men and women, which is a testament to their hard work and dedication, as well as the quality of the VET system in Australia,” he said. “We hope this encourages more young Australians to consider a vocational education and training pathway as a viable first-choice career option."

In many countries, the praise for the winners is not limited to words. The Republic of Korea exempts Gold medal winners from Military service. More

The UNESCO-UNEVOC International Centre participated in WorldSkills for the first time, and co-organized a number of activities during the event. A UNEVOC booth informed about UNESCO’s initiatives in TVET and the UNEVOC Network. Mr Shyamal Majumdar, Head of UNESCO-UNEVOC, addressed participants on many occasions. In a panel on UNIDO’s "Green Industry Initiative" he delivered a presentation on the role of TVET in advancing greening industry which was very well received. In a session called "Promising Practices from UNESCO’s global UNEVOC Network" representatives from UNEVOC Centres reported on examples of innovative use of ICT for improving access and quality of vocational training.

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WorldSkills Leipzig 2013: UNEVOC Network members presenting innovative uses of ICT in TVET
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Press release pre-conference event "Green Industrial Skills for Sustainable Development – Risks and Challenges for Least Developed Countries"