At this year’s event, competitors competed for world recognization across 61 skills, including Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Mechatronics, Mobile Robotics and Optoelectronic Technology. In South Korea, the eight skill competitions took place at KINTEX, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, from October 12 – 17.

Fifty-one competitors represented South Korea across 46 skills — and 22 among them are representatives from Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and Samsung Heavy Industries. They competed in 17 skills as representatives for their country and company.

A History of WorldSkills Competition and Its Impact

▲ The WorldSkills Competition 2022, a competition featuring skilled technicians from around the world, was held from October 12 – 17 at KINTEX, Goyang. 133 competitors from 35 countries participated in a total of eight skills, including Information Technology (IT) and plastic die engineering.

The WorldSkills Competition began in 1950 as a place to share the latest technologies, exchange information and build relationships amongst the world’s skilled young talents. In pursuit of these goals, the WorldSkills Competition was held periodically in member countries to research, develop and further advance new training methods and vocational training systems amidst a rapidly changing industry.

As this industry evolves, so too does the WorldSkills Competition. Compared to 2007, 14 new skills have been added in the areas of advanced IT and convergence technology, such as Cloud Computing, Mobile Applications Development and Cyber Security. The number of member countries has also increased from 49 in 2007 to 85 in 2022.

How Samsung Sponsors the Next Generation of Innovators

At the heart of Samsung’s business philosophy is an emphasis on technology, an idea that manufacturing and skilled talents are the foundation of driving future growth. In line with this vision, Samsung has been cultivating countless talented young professionals by sponsoring the WorldSkills Competitions and the Korea National Skills Competitions for 16 years.

In December 2006, Samsung Electronics signed the Skills Promotion Agreement with the Ministry of Labor. Samsung has also been sponsoring the National Skills Competition and Team Korea for WorldSkills Competitions since 2007. Moreover, of all the skilled specialists that have competed in the National Skills Competition, Samsung has hired approximately 100 of them each year since 2007. The young professionals hired by Samsung have competed in the WorldSkills Competition as national representatives and won a total of 28 gold medals, 16 silver medals and 8 bronze medals so far.

Samsung Electronics decided to sponsor the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition with a contribution of 1.5 million euros in recognition of all the competitors who trained during the pandemic, which caused the competition to be postponed by a year. This year is especially significant for Samsung as Heedong Lee, an employee from Samsung’s Mobile eXperience Business Division will join the competition as the WorldSkills Ambassador and Asia-Pacific representative for the WorldSkills Champions Trust. Lee previously won the gold medal in CNC Milling at the WorldSkills São Paolo 2015.

The Spotlight on National Representative Donggeun Lee

Donggeun Lee (age 24), the silver medalist of IT Network Systems Administrations at the Korea National Skills Competition in 2015, competed in Cloud Computing at this WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition. After joining Samsung, Lee trained as the national representative candidate in IT Network Systems Administration for the WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017. In 2020, he achieved his dream of joining Team Korea and competing in the WorldSkills Shanghai 2021. However, the competition was delayed by a year due to the pandemic. With one more year of preparation under his belt, Lee will now compete in the WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition.

“I’m mesmerized by cloud computing as it is the ultimate integration of advanced technologies with an infinite scope of application,” said Lee. Surprisingly, he had no information about the skill competition when he first entered Yangyoung Digital High School. He learned about the WorldSkills Competition through his teacher, and ever since, he began to receive training to try and win the gold medal at the WorldSkills Competition. “The WorldSkills Competition has been my dream for a long time,” said Lee. “I’ve been doing my best to achieve this dream, and now I’m ready to face it head-on.”

While preparing for this year’s competition, Lee emphasized that staying up-to-date on the latest trends was very important. “I’d like to become the person who not only shows interest in the latest trends but also creates and leads them,” said Lee, regarding his career after this competition.

WorldSkills Champions Unleash Their Full Potential at Samsung

Samsung has a history of fostering WorldSkills Champions, frequently hiring skilled young professionals from the National Skills Competitions in Korea. Read more about the stories of Samsung employees who went above and beyond their achievements at the WorldSkills Competition and are now unleashing their skills in their fields.

Last year, Samsung Electronics committed to being the headline supporter of WorldSkills Shanghai 2022, which was cancelled in May due to the pandemic. In June, WorldSkills International announced that the Special Edition of the 46th WorldSkills Competition would take place around the world, ensuring the continuation of the over 70-year tradition of hosting international skills competitions.

“WorldSkills is grateful to have tremendous support from Samsung Electronics for WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition,” said Chris Humphries, President of WorldSkills International. “As the WorldSkills community pulls together in new ways, Samsung Electronics’ partnership ensures that we can recognize the achievements of the world’s top skilled talent and enhance our ongoing work to advance global skills development and excellence.”

The unique event will encompass 61 international skill competitions, which will take place across Europe, North America, and East Asia from September to November of this year. Over 1,000 competitors from 56 countries and regions are expected to participate.

“Samsung Electronics decided to support WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition, since we fully understand how important the WorldSkills Competition is for young competitors, who have trained hard for years during the pandemic, and we recognize that it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them,” said Dr. Woosup Han, Secretary General of Samsung Skills and VP of Samsung Electronics. “I firmly believe that we, the WorldSkills family, will overcome the challenges and in return make this special competition successful.”

Samsung Electronics is a Global Premium Partner of WorldSkills. This partnership has been ongoing since 2007 and supports both organizations’ goals to empower future generations to achieve their full potential and pioneer positive social changes.

For more information on WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition, please visit worldskills2022se.com.

On May 20 in Kazan, Russia, Simon Bartley, President of WorldSkills International (seated left), and DS Jang, Secretary General of Samsung Skills at Samsung Electronics, are taking part in a signing ceremony announcing Samsung’s sponsorship of WorldSkills Kazan 2019. Standing behind them is Rustam Nurgalievich Minnikhanov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, of which Kazan is the capital.

Every other year, hundreds of talented young people from around the world gather to compete in the WorldSkills Competition – also known as the “World Championships of Skills.” This year’s competition, held from August 22 to 27 in Kazan, Russia, will mark the seventh consecutive time that Samsung Electronics has sponsored the prestigious event and the fourth consecutive time that the company has served as WorldSkills’ sole Overall Event Presenter (OEP).

WorldSkills Kazan 2019 is expected to draw approximately 1,400 competitors from 67 countries. Contestants will showcase their skills while representing their country in competitions spanning nearly 60 trades and vocations, including carpentry, engineering, culinary and graphic design, and much more.

The goal for this and each WorldSkills Competition is to inspire competitors to reach new heights and help them turn their passion into a profession. For Samsung, the competition presents a valuable opportunity to support vocational training in countries around the world, and nurture the development of future engineers.

“Samsung Electronics’ sponsorship of our event is meaningful because Samsung believes that companies should play a big role in helping teenagers hone their skills and create their own careers,” said Simon Bartley, President of WorldSkills International.

Samsung has a long history of supporting young workers’ professional pursuits. In addition to hosting the annual Global Samsung Skills Competition, which offers a platform for its skilled employees to enhance and showcase their skills excellence, the company has been a sponsor of Korea’s National Skills Competition and a consistent supporter of Team Korea in the WorldSkills Competition since 2007.

Korea will send around 50 competitors to this year’s WorldSkills Competition, 19 of whom hail from Samsung Electronics, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung Heavy Industries, and Samsung BioLogics. These talented young Samsung employees will compete in a total of 15 categories, including mechatronics and mobile robotics.

In addition to contributing 1.5 million euros to this year’s event, Samsung plans to install an on-site experience zone that will offer competitors and visitors an up-close look at the company’s latest innovations.

“Samsung has deeply understood the importance of skilled workforce for industry and strongly believed that their skills excellence leads to the competitiveness of their companies and countries,” said DS Jang, Secretary General of Samsung Skills (a division of Samsung Electronics). “That’s why Samsung has participated in WorldSkills movement over ten years and supported young professionals making their dreams and hopes come true through skills excellence.”

The Olympic Games will descend on the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro in 2016. But before the world’s greatest athletes arrive in Brazil next year, São Paulo will play host to another global competition that attracts the best in their field from around the world. In August of this year, Brazil’s largest city will host the WorldSkills Competition — the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in the world. This year marks the 43rd edition of the competition, which will draw participants from 59 nations.

The organization behind the competition is WorldSkills International, which promotes skills excellence and development for professionals. The organization holds a number of technical, trade, and service-oriented skills events across the world to challenge young professionals to become the best in the skill of their choice. Samsung Electronics has provided support for a number of diverse skills competitions both at home and abroad.

Samsung Tomorrow will post a variety of stories about WorldSkills over the course of this year. To kick things off, we conducted an exclusive interview with Simon Bartley, president of WorldSkills International, who spoke about the significance of the skills competition and how skills can open up possibilities for young people in the global community.

Q. Could you start by giving us a bit of background about WorldSkills International and the WorldSkills Competition?

A. WorldSkills International is a global not-for-profit membership organization with 73 Member countries and regions across all continents. It seeks to promote work-based professional skills as an alternative to academic skills.

There are 50 skill sets across the Competition, including Aircraft Maintenance, Welding, Cooking, Mobile Robotics, Industrial Electronics, and Wall and Floor Tiling. Young professional skilled people compete in the 50 different skills and are judged against industry standards and competencies, which are relevant across a range of working environments.

In addition to the competitions, the event also includes a comprehensive Conference Programme for high-level government decision-makers, including ministers of industries and education, and leaders of NGOs. WorldSkills International believes this comprehensive Conference Programme can help spread the value and possibilities of skills around the world.

Q. WorldSkills São Paulo 2015 marks the first time that Brazil will host the competition. Please tell us about the objectives and the significance of the event.

A. We will hold the competition in the Southern Hemisphere for the second time, the first was WorldSkills Sydney 1988 in Australia, and the second will be in Brazil (which is the first time in South America). WorldSkills International’s vision is “improving our world with the power of skills,” and we have a mission “to raise the profile and recognition of skilled people, and show how important skills are in achieving economic growth and personal success.”

In Brazil, we believe that we will be able to achieve both our vision and mission. In particular, the country has been instrumental in developing skilled professionals. The Brazilian Competition Organizer, for example, has hosted the first two WorldSkills Americas Competitions in 2010 and 2012, and worked very well.

Q. Please tell our readers about the ‘One School One Country Program’ that will take place in conjunction with WorldSkills São Paulo 2015.

A. The WorldSkills’ ‘One School One Country’ program initially ran in Japan in 2007 and is designed to build a foundation for the promotion of new skills. Elementary schools in the host country of the Competition are matched with a WorldSkills Member country or region. In class, students learn about the values, traditions and culture of the WorldSkills Member country or region, as well as information about the skilled careers represented at the competition. Finally, students and Competitors from the WorldSkills Members meet on the day of the Opening Ceremony when students welcome the Competitors at their schools.

During WorldSkills São Paulo 2015, approximately 200,000 people, including students, teachers, and parents will visit the WorldSkills Competition. The ‘One School One Country’ students, representing 55 local São Paulo schools, will also visit the event.

Q. What are your thoughts on Samsung’s involvement in the advancement of skills around the world?

A. Samsung is known for providing long-standing support for skills competitions in Korea and Asia. In the past, Samsung has been involved with meaningful activities in other WorldSkills Competitions, and its skilled professionals also took part. It is expected that Samsung will do the same at WorldSkills São Paulo 2015.

Samsung plays a critical role in highlighting the importance of skills to companies and employers and the company’s commitment to skills development is an inspiration to us.

Q. What do you think is needed to further advance the WorldSkills Competitions and continue fostering a skilled workforce in the global community? What do you think is the role of companies in achieving this?

A. Companies like Samsung demonstrate that the high-quality of products and services is a direct result of high technical standards and a highly skilled workforce. As companies increasingly recognize and demonstrate this point, the importance of a technically skilled workforce will increase, as well as the youth’s level of interest in honing their skills.

Q. What does the future hold for WorldSkills International, and what is its organizational goal?

A. Many countries are now looking to join WorldSkills International in the hope that young people, educational establishments and more industries can benefit from this initiative. We have 73 Members at the moment, which is more than ever before, and we hope that this will increase to 100 by 2023.

We are placing an emphasis on the expansion of international social contribution activities by skilled professionals. For example, we created the WorldSkills Foundation in 2011, which has served to carry out a range of community-based grassroots activities—like expanding sanitation facilities in Nepal, Bangladesh, and South Africa—with WorldSkills Competition Champions and Experts to make the world a better place to live.

Q. Lastly, would you like to say anything to Samsung Tomorrow readers?

A. I hope that all readers of Samsung Tomorrow, as well as those who were unfamiliar with the WorldSkills Competition until now, will visit our website (www.worldskills.org) and learn more about our goals. I also hope that you are able to visit WorldSkills São Paulo 2015 in August.