The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, witnessed the triumph of the Hong Kong, China delegation at WorldSkills Lyon 2024 in Lyon, France, on September 15 (France time). The delegation achieved the best ever results in the Competition with a total of one gold medal, one silver medal and two bronze medals.
This year, the Hong Kong, China delegation, comprising 37 skilled elites from various local institutions, participated in 32 skills competitions. Among them, Chan Wing-ki won a gold medal in Visual Merchandising, Yiu Ho-man won a silver medal in Pâtisserie and Confectionery, Wong Fu-tung and Wan Ka-chi won a bronze medal in Aircraft Maintenance and Cloud Computing respectively.
The delegation also won medallions for excellence in 10 competition trades, including 3D Digital Game Art, Bakery, Fashion Technology, Graphic Design Technology, Information Network Cabling, Joinery, Mechatronics, Mobile Applications Development, Restaurant Service and Welding; and a medallion for excellence in Rail Vehicle Technology, a demonstration trade.
Dr Choi attended the closing ceremony of the WorldSkills Competition and the prize presentation ceremony of the Hong Kong, China delegation, and exchanged views with the contestants. She highly praised the team for their excellent performance in the Competition, noting that they have won the highest number of awards and achieved the best ever results since Hong Kong first participated in the WorldSkills Competition in 1997. She also commended Hong Kong contestants for showcasing their best performance and fully demonstrating the talent and perseverance of Hong Kong youth in the international arena.
She said that the Government, industry and vocational and professional education and training (VPET) institutions will spare no effort and continue to work together to nurture more VPET talent to achieve the aim of providing an alternative pathway to success and creating strong impetus for the development of Hong Kong.
At their meeting with Dr Choi, the contestants said that VPET not only helps them acquire professional skills, industry knowledge and soft skills, but also benefits them with diverse learning, exchanges and internship opportunities.
In their sharing, the contestants also said that the Competition has refined their time management and problem-solving abilities, and taught them to stay calm when facing challenges. They also made use of this treasured opportunity to exchange techniques with contestants from around the world to elevate their skill level and learn about the latest industry trends to broaden their horizons. They believed that there would be ample development opportunities for their future career.
Organised biennially by WorldSkills International, the WorldSkills Competition is the largest skills competition in the world and hailed as the "Skills Olympics". This year, the event attracted more than 1 400 participants from nearly 70 countries and regions.
Dr Choi will continue her visit to Lyon on September 16 (France time), and then depart for Toulouse to attend the European Association for International Education Conference and Exhibition.
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