Press Release - Team Singapore lands record medal haul at 45th WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia

KAZAN, RUSSIA, 28 AUGUST 2019 – Team Singapore delivered a record number of 22 medals achieved at the WorldSkills Kazan 2019, also known as the “Youth Olympics of Skills”, which was held in Kazan, Russia, from 22 to 27 August 2019.

The record haul in the biennial global skills competition includes two Gold Medals, one Silver Medal, two Bronze Medals, and 17 Medallions for Excellence. These include skill categories that Singapore competed in for the first time – (1) Cyber Security, (2) Water Technology, (3) Cloud Computing and (4) Hotel Reception. Previously, the highest number of 17 medals was secured at WorldSkills São Paulo 2015.

Team Singapore won Medals in the following areas:

Details of Singapore’s overall achievements in Kazan can be found in Annex A.

This year’s WorldSkills Competition featured more than 1,300 competitors from 63 countries competing in 56 skills areas. Singapore achieved a ranking of 9 th at the medal tally, which is an improvement from its 12th ranking at the last WorldSkills Competition. China and Russia took the first and second places respectively. For more information on Singapore’s history of participation in the WorldSkills Competition, please refer to Annex B.

The Minister for Education, Mr Ong Ye Kung, was also in Kazan to support the Singapore team. This is the second time he had visited the competition. He became the first Singapore Minister to visit the WorldSkills Competition in 2017, which was then held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Mr Ng Cher Pong, Chairman of WorldSkills Singapore Council and Chief Executive of SkillsFuture Singapore, said, “Team Singapore competed against the best from all around the world in this international youth championship of skills, and did us proud. For many of the competitors, their journey has been a long and arduous one. They demonstrated the passion and grit to excel in the face of exacting standards in the international competition. They are role models for young Singaporeans, and we will continue to support them in their skills deepening journey even after the WorldSkills Competition.”

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* Based in Kazan, Russia, from 19 Aug – 30 Aug

ANNEX A

TEAM SINGAPORE AT WORLDSKILLS COMPETITION KAZAN 2019

Legend

¹ Skill areas that Singapore has participated in for the first time at WorldSkills Competition.
+ The Best of Nation award is presented to the highest scorer(s) of each country.
* The Medallion for Excellence is awarded to competitors who achieved at least 700 out of 800 points on the standardised WorldSkills scale in their skill area.

ANNEX B

SINGAPORE’S TRACK RECORD AT PAST WORLDSKILLS COMPETITIONS

For over 60 years, the WorldSkills Competition (WSC), organised by WorldSkills International, has come to symbolise the pinnacle of excellence in skilled trades and technologies training.

Every two years, hundreds of talented youths, accompanied by their teachers, coaches and trainers, gather from around the world to compete in the skills of their various trades and to test themselves against demanding international standards. They represent the best of their peers drawn from regional and national skills competitions.

First introduced as a national skills competition in Madrid, Spain, in 1947, to raise the image of vocational training in the country, the WSC became an international competition in 1950 with two participating countries – Spain and Portugal.

In 1993, ITE joined WorldSkills International as Singapore’s Official Representative. WorldSkills International is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to promote the image of skills and skilled careers through competitions and exchanges for youths. In 1994, ITE organised the first National Skills Competition (now known as the WorldSkills Singapore Competition), and led the first Singapore team to participate in the WSC in 1995 held in Lyon, France. The WorldSkills Singapore Office, which is under SkillsFuture Singapore, took over as Singapore’s Official Representative to WorldSkills International in 2017. WorldSkills Singapore supports the national SkillsFuture movement and offers a platform for competitors to showcase their capabilities in the pursuit of skills mastery.

The table below summarises Team Singapore’s performance from 1995: