WorldSkills Village a Global Experience

WorldSkills Village was an important component to the 43rd WorldSkills Competition, designed to connect international guests with WorldSkills sponsors, partners, and Member countries and regions.

Located between the two halls hosting the 50 skills competitions, the 5700 m² of the Palace featured uniquely designed booths and exhibition stands, each reflected the international diversity and depth of the WorldSkills community present at WorldSkills São Paulo 2015.

WorldSkills Village was a central meeting point to connect and discuss potential partnerships. Throughout the day, WorldSkills Village booths hosted special events attracting guests from around the world to network, making critical connections that will last long after the Competition ends.

One of the WorldSkills Members on display is Finland. Skills Finland and some of their key partners including the Finnish National Board of Education, Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, Centre International Mobility, and HAMK University of Applied Sciences joined forces to host a Finnish destination point, attracting potential international partners.

Katja Katajamäki, Communications Manager of Skills Finland, explains the value in the Village is creating a space to connect with the hundreds of vocational and technical education leaders from around the world gathered at WorldSkills. An afternoon “Meet the Fins” reception, featured Finnish delicacies and created a concentrated time for guests to make valuable connections.

WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 created a visually inspiring space setting the tone for what promises to be another spectacular WorldSkills Competition. Guests to the Abu Dhabi pavilion received traditional henna applied to their hands, had their photo taken with a falcon, or received travel information to plan their trip to Abu Dhabi.

The “Future of Skills” section of the Village, included an interactive futuristic experience by SENAI, the largest technical and vocational trainer in Brazil, and key partner in the hosting of WorldSkills São Paulo 2015.

It was also home to the Digital Challenge, a WorldSkills Foundation initiative that brought top developers and designers from Brazil together with WorldSkills Champions in a hackathon-style event, to solve challenges for local NGO’s. 

Another WorldSkills Foundation project “Listen Up!” was featured in the village - distributing in partnership with 3M, exclusive WorldSkills 3M ear protection, highlighting the need for youth to use hearing protection not only on the job but in entertainment environments.  

Whether it was enjoying a Parisian themed wine bar, hosted by WorldSkills France, or going head to head with a robot from SENAI in a game of tic-tac-toe, guests of the Village experienced the power of skills to connect and inspire a global community of WorldSkills supporters.