On September 21, the WorldSkills International professional skills competition for young professionals aged 18 to 23 opened at the Holiday Inn hotel. Masters of their craft competed in three areas - web design, system administration of IT networks and food preparation. The main task now is to form a team for the Samara region to participate in the WorldSkills International national championship and international competitions in Leipzig next year. That is, every young man or girl who takes part in the competition can become the best specialist in his field in the world.

The organizers of the competition are the “Regional Center for Entrepreneurship Development of the Samara Region” Foundation, the Department of Information Technology and Communications of the Samara Region, the Vocational Education Resource Center “Model Training and Production Center” of the State Autonomous Educational Institution of Secondary Professional Education of the Novokuybyshevsk State Humanitarian and Technological College with the support of the National Operator of the WorldSkills movement in Russia, the Foundation Education - society ”(Moscow).

Among the participants are technical schools of Tolyatti, Novokuibyshevsk and Samara and simply private companies. The event was attended by the President of the WorldSkills Russia movement Lidia Frolova, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, international experts from WorldSkills International from Europe and New Zealand, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Samara Region and the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Migration Policy of the Samara Region.

The Minister of Labor of the Samara Region Oleg Fursov spoke at the opening. He declared:

- These competitions are notes of awakening initiative and activity among young people. The need for middle-class specialists remains at 70% of the total number of vacancies.

But even the most competent specialist, when entering the market, needs the economy to be waiting for him. WorldSkills International is also a kind of “showcase” for employers, where they can evaluate the professional qualities of their future employees.

According to the Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Samara Region - Head of the Department of Information Technologies and Communications Stanislav Kazarin, regional authorities today are making enormous efforts to develop and improve the personnel potential of the province. The head of the IT department emphasized that events such as WorldSkills International will always be supported by the government of the Samara region. He also expressed hope that over time the capital of the Samara region will host the national finals of the competition.

The mission of WorldSkills International is to, through joint actions of states and the world community, help ensure that professions and a high level of qualifications contribute to achieving economic success and personal development.

WorldSkills International has long stood for the pinnacle of excellence in vocational education and training. The main activity of WSI is the organization of WorldSkills professional skills competitions in different countries every two years. Currently, WSI includes 60 countries.

Awards, diplomas and medals won at international competitions will be recognition of high qualifications and professional training and will allow young specialists to significantly improve their career growth in the international labor market.

Evgeniy BELOV

Professional skills competitions for youth were held in Samara