IVE graduates win the first medal at WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition

The WorldSkills Competition, hailed as the “Skills Olympics”, is being hosted as a Special Edition this year. 30 skilled talents, on behalf of Hong Kong, together with their Experts, are departing in groups in October and November for ten countries including Germany, Switzerland, Finland and Korea to compete with young peers worldwide in 26 skills competitions for the highest skills accolades.

Among them, LIU Chun-pang and LUI Shing-faat have walked away with the Medallion for Excellence in the Mechatronics skills competition held in Germany. This was the very first medal for Team Hong Kong this year. The duo are graduates of the Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering programme with the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE).

Team Hong Kong has won the Medallion for Excellence in Mechatronics four times in a row (2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022). Both winners for this year said, “We must thank the Expert and mentors for their dedicated coaching and experience sharing that have enabled us to face the competition with composure. We are particularly grateful to our families for their boundless support.” The two have already progressed to bachelor’s degree programmes to pursue further studies after graduating from IVE’s higher diploma programme.

Ricky LEUNG Wai-kit, currently Lecturer of the Department of Engineering at IVE (Tsing Yi), represented Hong Kong to participate in the Mechatronics skills competition in 2015. He assumed the role of Expert, training up LIU Chun-pang and LUI Shing-faat for the skills competition this year. He was delighted to see the two practise hard for the competition in the past year or so and finally won international recognition for their skill level.

The Mechatronics skills competition was held in Germany from 4 to 7 October, bringing together competitors from 25 countries and regions to participate. Over the course of four days, competitors were required to design and build an automated production line for quality inspections according to specified criteria. The competitors’ skills and knowledge on automation and smart production systems were put to the test, with a focus on their mentality and problem-solving skills.

In this year’s Special Edition, over 1,000 young skilled talents from nearly 60 countries and regions were invited to compete in over 60 skills competitions in more than ten different countries and regions around the world between September and November. Into its 46th competition, the WorldSkills Competition is the world’s largest skills competition which aims at promoting skills excellence, raising the status of skills training, and enhancing the awareness of vocational and professional education and training (VPET) and skills training in the international community. Since first joining in 1997, Team Hong Kong has won two Golds, one Silver, five Bronzes and 59 Medallions for Excellence, testimony to the world-recognised skill level of Hong Kong competitors.

Competitors of Team Hong Kong are all winners of the WorldSkills Hong Kong Competition jointly organised by the Vocational Training Council (VTC), the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Clothing Industry Training Authority (CITA). They have been selected through various assessments after a range of training programmes.

Established in 1982, the Vocational Training Council (VTC) is the largest vocational and professional education and training provider in Hong Kong. The mission of VTC is to provide a valued choice to school leavers and working people to acquire the values, knowledge and skills for lifelong learning and enhanced employability, and also to provide support to industries for their manpower development. VTC has 13 member institutions, namely the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi), the Institute of Professional Education And Knowledge (PEAK), the School for Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE), the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE), the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI), the Hotel and Tourism Institute (HTI),  the Chinese Culinary Institute (CCI), the International Culinary Institute (ICI), the Maritime Services Training Institute (MSTI), Youth College, Pro-Act by VTC, the Integrated Vocational Development Centre (IVDC) and the Shine Skills Centre.

Website: www.vtc.edu.hk

Official website of WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition: https://worldskills2022se.com/

About Team Hong Kong at WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition: https://www.worldskillshongkong.org/en/home

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