A look to the future and the pandemic's impact became the focus of the final day of General Assembly 2020.

The virtual gathering, chaired by Chris Humphries, President and Chair of the Board, included more than 230 representatives from WorldSkills 85 Members. Each country and region’s organization has faced the impact of the pandemic, ranging from postponing to cancelling national skills competitions and local skill development activities. 

Over the past seven months, original plans to advance the priorities of Vision 2025 took a back seat to ideas and initiatives to provide support for Members and the WorldSkills movement during this difficult period.

A critical part of that response was the establishment of working groups, which were noted by David Hoey, CEO, as the driver behind “a very productive year” despite the pandemic. Skills will be vital for every community’s and country’s post-pandemic economic recovery and it is important that WorldSkills and its Members focus on their impact and relevance for youth and education and industry.

A series of “opt-in” meetings discussed topics such as planning and delivering skills competitions and related events in the post-COVID-19 world, online VET training content and tools, Future Skills, and Competitions sustainability.

Members voted to support the Impact Statement initiative, designed to gather data on the cumulative impact the WorldSkills movement has on skills development within each Member’s country and region. 

WorldSkills China and WorldSkills Shanghai 2021 provided an impressive update on their progress plans for the 46th WorldSkills Competition, WorldSkills Conference, and WorldSkills Museum.

As part of a presentation to the General Assembly, China’s Official Delegate Lyu Yulin said they were “working very hard to overcome the impact of COVID-19” but understood the challenges the pandemic posed to Members. He added, “we hope we can meet with you as early as possible in Shanghai.”

Although travel to Shanghai has been postponed, 270 executive and department level videoconference meetings have been hosted between WorldSkills Shanghai 2021 and WorldSkills International.

Mr Hoey outlined the significant and ongoing risk management and risk mitigation planning underway around WorldSkills Shanghai 2021, and the increased focus and scenario review now that the event is less than one year away. 

Dedicated meetings are planned with Members and Global Partners over the coming weeks to review and decide on the hosting details for the 46th WorldSkills Competition currently scheduled for 22-27 September 2021.