Abu Dhabi nurtures young talent at 44th WorldSkills

Omar Alhebsi, an Emirati champion competing in electronics at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017, has told Emirates News Agency, WAM that the UAE team will fly high during the event. "I and my team have been gearing up for the competition for around one year now. We are confident that we will do something the entire country will be proud of," he said.

The young people competing in the WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 event at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre, ADNEC, are the best of the best. They have already proved their exceptional talents by winning selection to the teams of the 77 WorldSkills member countries and regions by participating in qualifying skills competitions.

As the first Middle Eastern city to host the much-coveted biannual event since its launch in 1950, Abu Dhabi is this week witnessing the largest ever number of competitors to vie with each other in a WorldSkills competition which formally kicked off last night with a lavish ceremony on Yas Island.

Abu Dhabi's hosting of the world event, which is being held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, reflects the central importance the country is attaching to supporting young talent, while providing unlimited opportunities to students and developing initiatives that are likely to feed the minds of future generations.

The competition officially started today and will finish on Wednesday afternoon. The closing ceremony will take place on Thursday evening on Yas Island where the results will be announced and medals presented to the winning competitors.

"WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 is about competition, but it is also about the creation and cultivation of a legacy through young people recognising that vocational skills offer diverse, fulfilling career paths and the opportunity to make significant tangible contributions to their countries’ development," said Simon Bartley, President, WorldSkills International, at a news conference today at ADNEC Media Centre, marking the opening of the four-day world competitions.

Showcasing the value of skills and boosting recognition of skilled professionals worldwide, up to 1,300 competitors, 34 of whom are from the UAE, are participating in the global champions contest, organised by Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training, ACTVET. Coming from 60 countries and regions across the world, the champions are participating in 51 skills, vying to become WorldSkills Champions.

"WorldSkills is fast becoming the 'must-be-at event' to debate and shape skills around the world," Bartley added. He urged competitors to keep in mind the support of their families and mentors that got them to this level, and that they "are all champions" who should share their WorldSkills story with others in their own nations.

The largest team of students from competitors of the Arab region, the 34 participating Emirati students have been training for more than a year for the much-awaited event. In addition, around 80,000 UAE students are attending the event.

Speaking to reporters following today’s news conference, Laila Al Mahri, a participating UAE champion, said, "I’m very excited to be here today and competing in the Health and Social Care category. I’m so delighted to compete with different people from all over the world. I appreciate our leaders for giving us this opportunity to compete here and reflect a positive image of the UAE youth, and I’m very optimistic the UAE participants will achieve big successes."

The champion contests fall under six categories: construction and building technology, creative art and fashion, transportation and logistics, manufacturing and engineering technology, information and communication technology, and health and social care.

"I’m participating under the manufacturing and engineering category, which most of us are aware will be the most challenging among all categories," Mallinathan Puthukkudi, an Indian champion who won the silver medal in WorldSkills 2009, told WAM.

"The entire competition atmosphere is so inspirational and the venue is quite encouraging to get the best out of us," said his colleague, Dinor Martin, a Brazilian working on a plastic die engineering project. "We are designing and creating plastic molds from designer drawings for mass produced products of high quality at low cost," he said, explaining that he and his team have been working on their project for more than one year. "Our work entails premium precision. The design and processing of a mold is done with the help of software systems, most of the machining is completed on computer numerical control machines. The machined parts are then polished and assembled to prepare them for trial."

Chirag Goel of India participated in the Web Design and Development Skill at WorldSkills Sao Paulo 2015. "Being at the 44th WorldSkills Competition feels like coming back home," said Goel. "As competitors, we go into the competition as boys and girls, but walk out as men and women. Skills have helped me develop an identity. Now, people recognise me as someone who not only has a skill, but has competed at the highest level representing their skill and industry."

During the event, a number of tourism and heritage programmes, activities and events are being organised by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism as part of its support to the event to highlight the emirate as a first-class tourist destination partner.