Worldskills competition 2019 at WSI general assembly in Niagara falls (CAN)
The WorldSkills International (WSI) General Assembly wrapped up its work in Niagara Falls (CAN) today, October 7, 2016.
The WSI General Assembly, organised through the united efforts of SkillsUSA and SkillsCanada, was held on October 2-7 and brought together WSI official and technical delegates from more than 50 countries, WSI’s Global Industry Partners and participants of the WorldSkills Champions Forum.
As organisers of the upcoming 2019 WorldSkills Competition, Russian representatives from the Agency for the Development of Professional Communities and Skilled Workers (WorldSkills Russia) and Directorate for Sports and Social Projects took an active role in the events hosted by the General Assembly.
On the margins of the WSI General Assembly, the Russian delegates had meetings with WSI’s Global Industry Partners where the parties reached agreements to continue cooperation and to hold joint work sessions at the EuroSkills Competition due to be held in Göteborg (SWE) on November 30-December 4, 2016.
The delegates also met with representatives of the Organising Committee for the WorldSkills Competition Abu Dhabi 2017. The parties agreed to take joint efforts in terms of developing the volunteer programme for WorldSkills competitions and to begin the exchange of best practices starting from the Competition Preparation Week dedicated to the host city’s build-up for the WorldSkills Competition Abu Dhabi 2017. Special attention was given to the WorldSkills brand’s development and promotion all over the world. The Directorate representatives also had talks with Crispin Thorold, Director of Marketing and Communications of WorldSkills International (WSI), during which the parties identified future actions and negotiated common strategies for the visual identity of the WorldSkills Competition Kazan 2019, launch of the official website for the future competition and promotion of the competition through media and social networks.
The closing day of the WSI General Assembly saw UAE and Russian representatives deliver reports on their preparation for the WorldSkills Competition Abu Dhabi 2017 and WorldSkills Competition Kazan 2019. In her presentation, Russia’s Official Delegate in WSI, Natalia Zolotareva, provided an insight into a number of topics, among them the foundation and running of the Federal Organising Committee for the WorldSkills Competition 2019, signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with WSI, operation of project task forces, introduction of project management in the preparation for the upcoming competition, construction progress of the Kazan Expo WorldSkills Arena, which will become the key venue for the future competition. During her speech, Natalia Zolotareva informed that the government and business become more and more interested in the WorldSkills Movement and also mentioned implementation of international standards in Russia and changes that are to be made to the national vocational secondary education system.
During the meeting with WSI CEO David Howie, the Russian delegates reached an agreement to conduct WorldSkills Kazan 2019 joint working groups on the sidelines of the 2016 EuroSkills Competition in Göteborg (SWE) and to host the WSI Secretariat’s inspection visit to Kazan in December 2016.
The WSI General Assembly’s next session is scheduled to be held in October 2017 as part of the WorldSkills Competition Abu Dhabi 2017. The 2018 edition of the General Assembly will take place in Amsterdam (NED), which was selected by secret ballot. Other candidate cities were Dublin (IRL) and Cartagena (COL).