Are you game for the WorldSkills challenge?

WORLDSKILLS COMES TO THE UAE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER SINCE THE EVENT BEGAN IN 1950. AS MANY AS 34 EMIRATI STUDENTS ARE COMPETING IN 31 CATEGORIES IN THE 5-DAY GLOBAL SKILLS CONTEST

They are experts in 3D art to web design and bricklaying to information technology: In the next five days, the UAE can witness a pool of such young talents from across the world, who are in the Capital to take part in the WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the 44th edition of the WorldSkills, a popular global event, will run from Sunday to Thursday at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec).

During the five-day event, 80,000 students from the UAE will compete, in what is dubbed as the world’s largest skills competition, which was originally founded in 1950. This is for the first time a Middle Eastern country is hosting the WorldSkills event.

The competition will have the participation of 77 member countries and regions; 1,259 competitors, 110,000 visitors, of which 100,000 are from the UAE; 80,000 UAE students, and 1,000 volunteers. Ministers of education from around the world are also participating in this year’s event.

The venue is spread around 135,870 square metres and the estimated cost of the equipment alone stands at around Dh95 million.

The skill contests falls 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.

Over the recent months, the WorldSkills team visited schools across the UAE and gave an outline of the event to ensure the presence of students at the competition.

During the pre-event conference, Mubarak Saeed Al Shamsi, directorgeneral, Abu Dhabi Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Actvet), told Khaleej Times the event is expected to have a significant impact on the UAE’s education sector.

He stressed the importance of supporting young talent, while providing unlimited opportunities to students, and developing initiatives that will feed the minds of future generations.

“We have no limit in terms of supporting young Emiratis and empowering them.”

The strong commitment from the UAE’s young generation is evident in the high domestic interest in pursuing vocational careers, he added.

The Emirati students have been training for more than a year, are the largest team of students from the competitors of the Arab region, with 34 students participating in 31 categories, according to Al Shamsi,

The event is considered a breakthrough in nurturing young talents which will help young Emiratis as wells talented youth across the Middle East.

jasmine@khaleejtimes.com