Competition Preparation Week ramps up readiness for WorldSkills Shanghai 2022

With WorldSkills Shanghai 2022 just eight months away, this would normally be time for Competition Preparation Week (CPW) — a series of meetings in the host city bringing together over 300 key stakeholders to progress preparations for the event's skill competitions.

Like so many activities in the pandemic, the CPW has moved online, to bring the Skill Management Teams, Members, Global Partners, Competition Organizer, and WorldSkills International together virtually to plan the skill competitions for the 46th WorldSkills Competition, 12–17 October 2022 in Shanghai, China.

“CPW is a critical point in our planning process for the 63 skill competitions and that is no different this year,” said Jane Stokie, WorldSkills Director of Skills Competitions. “The nature of our global event means that much of our ongoing planning happens online throughout the year. We are grateful for the adaptability of our volunteers, Members, and Partners to shift online for this additional set of critical meetings.”

A central component of the CPW includes detailed planning meetings for each of the skill competitions, to finalize the Infrastructure List (IL), layout of the workshops, and Health, Safety, and Environment requirements, logistics, equipment, and tools.

CPW formally begins on 1 March with an Opening Ceremony followed by videoconference meetings throughout the week. However the task of coordinating 63 individual skill competitions is large and complex, meaning that meetings for each skill began in January and will continue into March.

In addition to the ongoing skill-specific meetings, the Competitions Committee, Skill Management Teams, and Sponsors Forum will meet next week online.

“Each component of our skill competitions relies on the integration of endless details, expertise, and experience, which is most efficiently captured in an intense week of in-person meetings. Although we won’t be together in person, quite yet, CPW is a milestone that signals an exciting countdown to the event and the reuniting of the WorldSkills community,” said Jane Stokie.

Zhang Lan, Deputy Director of WorldSkills Shanghai 2022 Executive Bureau, said: “All these efforts aim at a clear goal: a simple, safe, and wonderful WorldSkills Competition in October 2022 in Shanghai, China.”