Skills are a powerful tool for creating a more equitable world, bridging gaps, and opening doors to opportunities for individuals globally.
Faced with conflict, inequality, and climate change, people are increasingly looking to skills to build a better world for all.
Knowing the critical role that skilled young people will play in realizing this vision, WorldSkills is examining ways to put sustainability at the heart of its training and competitions.
Earlier this year, as preparations were underway, it announced that WorldSkills Competition 2024 would be the first to assess all Competitors on sustainability.
The announcement came as the WorldSkills Occupational Standards were updated to include sustainable practice as one of the core components on which skill competitions are assessed.
Through its inclusion, sustainable practice is now an expectation of Competitors in completing their Test Project and included in the Marking Scheme.
Examples include the importance of using green materials and adhering to correct waste disposal and recycling in Renewable Energy and using environmentally friendly materials in Joinery.
This significant announcement back in April was greeted with overwhelming support from the skills community. D
avid Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International, said the decision reflected both the needs of industry and the intentions of young people.
He said, “By embedding sustainability in our benchmarks for skills excellence, we hope it will encourage Competitors, and the Experts training them, to be more sustainable, as well as the workplaces they will join in the near future.”
As well as nurturing sustainable technical skills, WorldSkills also builds essential life skills.
Through its competition-based training, WorldSkills continues to help young people become more confident, resilient, determined, ambitious, adaptable, and innovative – key attributes to be able to thrive within an increasingly uncertain and disruptive world.
More broadly, WorldSkills is starting to align skills development to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).
For example, Plumbing and Heating requires plumbers to have the knowledge needed to install grey water systems to reduce waste, in line with UN SDG 6.
Installing the right heat pump systems can also help ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy, as described in UN SDG 7 to combat climate change and its impacts.
WorldSkills recognizes that the planet needs a new generation of skilled people to address urgent challenges, from climate breakdown, to gender and socioeconomic disparities, and inequitable access to education.
More is needed, but for now these measures are a clear signal of WorldSkills intention to equip young people with the right skills to enable them, their communities, and the planet thrive.
