Global Partners Recognized For Their Contributions To WorldSkills

During the General Assembly 2016 in Niagara Falls, Canada, six Global Partner representatives were recognized for their contributions as advocates of the WorldSkills movement. Each has advanced their industry’s connection to develop skilled careers around the globe and inspired youth to pursue excellence.

Honorary Associate recognitions were awarded to David Green from Fluke, Bob Schoenherr from Cisco, Martin Williams from Festo, Patrick Atkinson from Saint-Gobain, and Laura London from Autodesk. Each contributed to the deepening of support of their organization to the WorldSkills movement. 

Dr. Ji-oh Song from Samsung was presented with the first WorldSkills Honorary Fellowship, recognizing his exceptional commitment and valuable contributions to building a strong and long-lasting partnership with WorldSkills. Dr. Song’s vision for how the world is improved through the power of skills has made him a steadfast and visionary leader within the WorldSkills community for more than a decade. 

General Assembly 2016 had 25 representatives from the 15 Global Partners. The partners met to discuss increased connection between WorldSkills and the Global Partners marketing and communication efforts, as well as supporting the impact and sustainability of skills competitions. The Global Partners were key contributors in each of the different working groups, the Strategy Committee, the Competitions Committee, and the WorldSkills Leaders Forum, ensuring that recommendations from the meetings reflect the essential perspective of industry.

Important updates on forthcoming events and projects from the WorldSkills Champions Trust and WorldSkills Champions Forum were discussed with the Global Partners, along with dedicated meetings on the planning of the biggest vocational education and skills excellence event in the world, WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017.

The Sponsors Forum, which is the next gathering of the Global Partners, will be held in conjunction with the Competition Preparation Week early in 2017, in Abu Dhabi, UAE.