Members of WorldSkills International arrive for inspection visit in Kazan

The project sessions featuring WorldSkills International Secretariat and members of WorldSkills Russia and the Directorate for Sports and Social Projects take place in the host city of WorldSkills Kazan 2019 on 21-25 August 2017.

In his welcoming speech, David Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International, mentioned the strong bid campaign of Kazan, full of projects and plans. WorldSkills International sincerely hope that all of them will be accomplished and don't exclude the possibility that WorldSkills Kazan 2019 may become the best Competition in the history of WorldSkills.

"Russia joined WorldSkills International in 2012, and 7 years later it already organizes the WorldSkills Competition! This event contributes not only to our movement, but to Russian market as well. It is a leverage to increase the standards of vocational education in the country, as WorldSkills is directly related to industry. The Competition delivery requires considerable resources, but ultimately it fully pays off," said David Hoey.

During the introductory part of the session, Emil Gubaidullin, Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Sports and Social Projects, made a report on the work carried out in the lead-up to the Competition. The report featured information on the construction of the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre, which will play host to the upcoming event; Competition infrastructure, in particular, WorldSkills Village, a place for the accommodation of the Competitors and Experts; and the launch of the Partnership, Ambassador, and Volunteer programmes of WorldSkills Kazan 2019.

"We will continue our work to ensure the succussfull delivery of the Competition according to the WorldSkills International requirements," he said. "Our Russian delegation is coming to the UAE to participate in WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 and learn from their experience. The WorldSkills Flag Handover to Kazan as the next host city of the Competition will also take place there."

"At this session we will discuss not only WorldSkills Kazan 2019, but also many different projects such as WorldSkills Academy, Future Skills and others, which will become the legacy of the Competition. I hope we will successfully collaborate not only to organize the best Competition, but also to establish the best vocational training and education system," expressed his hopes Robert Urazov, Director General of WorldSkills Russia.

Press Office of WorldSkills Kazan 2019 Competition Organizer