Record number of competition categories for World Skills 2021

Featuring nine new categories, the 46th World Skills Competition to be held in Shanghai in September 2021 will have the greatest number of competitions among all the editions.

An event marking the one-year countdown to next year's competition – it will have 63 competition categories – was held in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The newly added categories are aimed at answering the developmental demands of new industries, the organization committee said.

The new categories are building information modeling, industrial design technology, industry 4.0, robotic system integration, optoelectronic technology, renewable energy, additive manufacturing, mobile application development, and rail vehicle technology.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, members of Worldskills International still have high expectations for participating in the competition next year, according to the organization.

"The country will make full preparations for the competition so that it will be one with widespread influence and a platform for communication and exchange between countries in the field of skills," said Yang Tao, vice minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Peng Chenlei, vice mayor of Shanghai and deputy director of the organization committee of the 46th WorldSkills Competition, said that more than 500 local occupational skills competitions are held in Shanghai annually, drawing more than 100,000 individuals.

"Highly-skilled talents have totaled 1.15 million in the city, accounting for one-third of the municipality's skilled laborers. A team of highly competent skilled workers compatible with the city's industrial development needs has been formed in Shanghai," he said.

Members of Worldskills International can now register for the competition.