Here's hoping 'Skills Olympics' opens ways to greater skills and jobs

Can an apprentice become a master overnight? The answer is yes. Many such success stories will be heard in the coming days at the 48th WorldSkills Competition Shanghai 2026, commencing Tuesday and running through Sunday.

According to the organizers, 1,385 young craftsmen from 68 countries and regions will fight it out for top honors at the event.

Young craftsmen — mostly students from vocational schools or fresh graduates under the age of 22 — will compete for 64 gold medals in categories extending from traditional haircut to the newly introduced unmanned aircraft system.

Medal winners in what is also called the "Skills Olympics" can expect to become famous overnight at home, even attracting job offers.

While there is no official word yet on the value of this year's awards, gold medal winners at the last Lyon event had received cash prizes of 300,000 yuan ($44,689) each — nearly seven times China's average annual disposable income.

Add to that other benefits. Central authorities recognize gold medalists as senior technicians, the highest in the national vocational qualification's five-category ranking; it's not for nothing that craftsmen put in their best to get as close as they can to the top at these events.

By hosting the competition in Shanghai and encouraging players to win big, China is showing how much importance it accords to vocational education and how it is grooming millions of skilled craftsmen to meet the needs of both the traditional industries and the many science — and technology-backed fields.

Statistics show that by the end of last year, more than 725 million people were employed. And 220 million could be called skilled workers and 72 million highly skilled workers — meaning they have at least moved up several rungs on the ladder for occupational qualification.

China can attribute a big part of its industrial success and economic achievement to its huge and well-educated labor force.

Each year, millions of young people graduate from China's 11,000 vocational schools and colleges. At this moment, more than 35 million students are studying in these institutions, making China's vocational education system the world's biggest.

Surveys have found that in recent years, over 70 percent of new recruits at modern manufacturing enterprises are graduates from vocational schools and colleges.

They are the ones who remotely control drones surveying damage in disaster-hit areas after a calamity; the lathe operators who make parts for China's space station; the ones who do makeup for brides; and also those who prepare the feast at weddings.

The fact that seven new events — including digital interactive media design and unmanned aircraft systems — have entered the WorldSkills event this year should remind us that it is high time we turned part of our attention from traditional industrial and service skills to a completely new horizon.

Conflicts in Europe and the Middle East leading to pipelines getting blocked and the Strait of Hormuz being blockaded are having a negative effect on the global economy, affecting both lives and jobs. The same is true even in China where more and more young people are leaving big cities after failing to get ideal jobs.

They left because they could not meet the requirements — they were not well-trained for the jobs that many companies are offering to skilled workers.

It is reported that the digital economy in China alone is running short of 30 million skilled workers. Despite offering handsome salaries and wages, the sector is facing a shortage of hands and this might continue for a few more years until the vocational schools and universities can churn out workers who are skilled for the job.

There is a huge demand for skilled workers in the drone operation (1 million), smart manufacturing (4.5 million) and new energy vehicle repair (0.8 million) sectors too.

Given this backdrop, millions of our boys and girls who are in need of jobs must rush to vocational schools and workshops to train themselves for the opportunities.

I hope the WorldSkills Competition Shanghai 2026 will serve not only as a stage to showcase the world's best skills but also as an indicator of new job opportunities for young people in the country.

The author is former deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily.

kangbing@chinadaily.com.cn