"Kazan has all conditions to host WorldSkills Competition", Simon Bartley said

The preparation of the WorldSkills Competition that will take place in August 2019 in Kazan was discussed at the city media centre today in Kazan. President of WorldSkills, Simon Bartley, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Tatarstan Andrey Pominov, Deputy Director General of the Directorate for Sports and Social Project, Emil Gubaidullin, and WorldSkills Champions Trust member Anna Prokopenya participated in the meeting.

The President of WorldSkills highly appreciated the event venue, the Kazan Expo International Exhibition Centre. Its construction is already coming to its end. "We have arrived here straight from the Competition venue. Only 12 months left until the kick off of the Competition, and I can be confident that this is a great place that will allow to host the event on the highest level. All conditions are provided here! Everything is thought of, and the Centre is easily accessible," told Simon Bartley. He also admitted that the government of Russia and the Republic of Tatarstan devote a lot of attention to develop skills among youth as this will reflect on the future regional and country's economy. "Kazan has become the first Russian city to host a WorldSkills Competition since the country joined the movement. Young people competing in different skills from welding to brick laying and from robotics to electronics demonstrate everyone that skills change you life for the better," admitted Simon Bartley.

Anna Prokopenya is a young but already experienced confectioner, and a WorldSkills Champions Trust member. "Four years ago I participated in a National WorldSkills Competition in Kazan for the first time. Now it's hard to believe that in a year we are hosting a world competition. Back then I got inspired by the idea that vocational occupations change our lives and the world around us. Much has changed in this short period: colleges are provided with new equipment, and people start to realise what a confectionery, for instance, is about. The world is made by workers and it is crucial to ensure that their work is qualified. It is prestigious to be part of this group of creators and to do something with your own arms," says Anna.

"When a decision to update the vocational education was being made, we were looking for a trajectory. The WorldSkills system has become this trajectory for us. Thanks to it, we understand how we should change the education, what equipments we need to provide the schools with, and, finally, we see what professions will be in demand in the nearest and in the long term. A whole resource centre equipped according to the WorldSkills standards is created in Tatarstan, we also introduce an assessment standard to evaluate the vocational education quality. I think we will keep on going in this direction. I am sure that the hosting of the Competition will serve as an impetus for development of the vocational education in the country and republic," underlined Andrey Pominov.

Emil Gubaidullin told the journalists how the organising country and the host city are preparing for the event. He reminded that more than 1,600 Competitors under 25 years from more than 60 countries will take part in the competitions. 56 Skills will be represented at the Competition, and 3,500 volunteers will contribute to its delivery. Approximately 250,000 spectators are expected to visit the Competition venue.

All Skills are grouped into 6 sectors: Manufacturing and Engineering Technology, Information and Communication Technology, Construction and Building Technology, Transportation and Logistics, Creative Arts and Fashion, and Social and Personal Services. WorldSkills Competitions and all lead-up trainings allow young professionals to compete one with another, learn from each other, and see how to be better in a chosen skill. Education, trainings and participation in a WorldSkills Competition is equal to 4-5 years of professional trainings.

WorldSkills International, Russian Operator of the WorldSkills ‘Young Professionals WorldSkills Russia’ Union, and the Directorate for Sports and Social Projects are the organizers of the Competition.

"The preparation is very productive. Together with our colleagues from WorldSkills Russia and WorldSkills International we will do our best to host one of the best competitions in history and influence the educational system in the country," assured the journalists Emil Gubaidullin. He also remembered that a WorldSkills Competition is not just competitions, but also a great job fair where companies representatives meet their future employees and competitors have chance to find their future employers. "We will try to make the Competition as interesting and bright as possible," added Emil Gubaidullin.

Press Office of WorldSkills Kazan 2019 Competition Organizer