MEDIA RELEASE

22 JULY

Region’s biggest skills competition, WorldSkills ASEAN 2023 commences today

-       First time Singapore plays host to WorldSkills ASEAN

-       A 44-member Team Singapore to compete in 22 skills areas

SINGAPORE, 22 JULY 2023 – The region’s biggest skills competition, WorldSkills ASEAN 2023, has commenced in Singapore from 22 July to 27 July 2023. This marks the first time Singapore hosts the WorldSkills ASEAN competition, which is in its 13th edition. President Halimah Yacob was the Guest-of-Honour at the opening ceremony at Singapore Expo this evening. She was accompanied by Ms Gan Siow Huang, Minister of State for Education and Manpower.

2        More than 170 youths from the ASEAN Member States are set to compete across 22 skills areas from 23 July to 25 July 2023, at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. Singapore will be represented by 44 youths from the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) in all 22 skills areas. This is the largest contingent that Singapore has sent to WorldSkills ASEAN, since our first regional participation in 2008.

3        WorldSkills ASEAN will also include a new skills area – the Rapid Transit Systems – a team event introduced by Singapore for the competition. The new skills area was developed in collaboration with Land Transport Authority, SMRT Trains, SBS Transit, selected IHLs and partners, to raise awareness of the in-demand area among youths, and help build a pipeline of skilled railway professionals for Singapore’s transport economy. Other skills areas include Cooking, Electronics, Fashion Technology, Mobile Robotics, and Restaurant Service. Refer to Annex A for the list of Team Singapore competitors and their skills areas.

4        Singaporeans are encouraged to show their support for Team Singapore by either posting their well wishes on go.gov.sg/cheeronTeamSG, or posting their messages through their Instagram and/or Twitter accounts with the hashtag #WorldSkillsSG. The support garnered is available for public viewing on the WorldSkills ASEAN 2023 social wall.

5        Mr Tan Kok Yam, Chairman of the WorldSkills Singapore Council and Chief Executive of SkillsFuture Singapore said: “Singapore is privileged to be hosting the WorldSkills ASEAN. We are thankful for the contribution and strong participation of our ASEAN partners, which reflect our shared commitment to supporting and celebrating skills mastery among our youths. Finally, we hope Singaporeans will cheer on our own competitors with some home ground support!”

6        Team Singapore competitors for the individual category will receive cash prizes of $3,000 (Gold), $2,000 (Silver) and $1,000 (Bronze) respectively, while winning teams will receive cash prizes of $4,500 (Gold), $3,000 (Silver), and $1,500 (Bronze) respectively. The results of the competition will be announced at the closing ceremony on 27 July 2023.

7        WorldSkills ASEAN 2023 is organised by WorldSkills Singapore Office in collaboration with the IHLs, as part of the SkillsFuture Festival 2023. The competition aims to promote skills excellence and raise skills standards among youths, as well as showcase opportunities in vocational training and education in the region. This year, over 40 sponsors are supporting the skills competition. For more information, please visit www.worldskillsasean.org/2023/.

Engaging youths and public through WorldSkills ASEAN  

8        On 21 July, seven Singapore secondary schools each hosted youth competitors from the ASEAN Member States as part of the competition’s cultural exchange programme, One School One Country (OSOC). The OSOC was an opportunity for our secondary students to meet and interact with overseas youth competitors, learn more about skills mastery and build new friendships.

9        MOE and the IHLs are organising the Education and Career Guidance Fair from 23 July to 25 July to provide education, skills and career guidance to youths. The fair will feature interactive activities, try-a-skill stations and workshops set up by over 70 industry partners. About 10,000 secondary students are expected to participate at the fair.

10         From 24 July to 25 July, Cyber Security Agency, Singapore Science Centre, and VEX Robotics will organise their respective junior skills competitions. Close to 1,000 primary and secondary school students will compete in skills such as cybersecurity, drone coding and robotics programming. These junior skills competitions are designed to teach technical skills, as well as soft skills such as teamwork, collaboration, time management, and communications. Refer to Annex B for details on the One School One Country, Education and Career Guidance Fair, and Junior Skills competition.

11       The WorldSkills ASEAN is open to visitors. Visitors can observe and support our Team Singapore at the competition, and explore the interactive booths and workshops featuring different skills areas. The three-day event is expected to attract 12,000 visitors.

For media queries, please contact SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG):

Ms Jayne Tay                                                     

Contact: 9711 5809                                          

Email: jayne_tay@ssg.gov.sg         

Ms Cheryl Leow

Contact: 8222 3804

Email: cheryl_leow@ssg.gov.sg

About WorldSkills ASEAN

Every two years, young talents from ASEAN Member States gather to showcase their talents and abilities in various skills categories at the WorldSkills ASEAN Competition. First held in 1995 in Malaysia, the WorldSkills ASEAN Competition aims to promote and upgrade skills standard in ASEAN region to an international level, as well as to motivate youths to develop their skills to meet international standards and current technologies. It also provides an opportunity for the exchange of knowledge, expertise and experience among delegates from member countries. In 2008, Singapore participated in its first WorldSkills ASEAN Competition in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The WorldSkills ASEAN is organised by WorldSkills Singapore Office, a division in SkillsFuture Singapore. For more information, visit www.worldskillsasean.org/2023 .

About SkillsFuture Singapore

SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) drives and coordinates the implementation of the national SkillsFuture movement, promotes a culture of lifelong learning and strengthens the ecosystem of training and adult education in Singapore. Through a holistic suite of national SkillsFuture initiatives, SSG enables Singaporeans to take charge of their learning journey in their pursuit of skills mastery. SSG also works with key stakeholders to ensure that students and adults have access to high quality and industry-relevant training that meet the demands of different sectors of the economy for an innovative and productive workforce. For more information, visit skillsfuture.gov.sg .

ANNEX A

List of Team Singapore 44 competitors and the 22 skills areas

ANNEX B

Details on One School One Country,

Education and Career Guidance Fair, Junior Skills Competition

1. One School One Country, 21 July 2023

    

   Started in 2007, the One School One Country is a cultural programme organised by the host country of WorldSkills competition. The host country will match local schools with another WorldSkills member country to give local students the opportunity to interact and learn from one another.

    

   It is the first time for Singapore to host the WorldSkills ASEAN and the One School One Country programme. Students from seven Singapore secondary schools each hosted youth competitors from the ASEAN Member States on 21 July 2023. Our local students were able to be involved in WorldSkills ASEAN through a meaningful exchange of knowledge, culture and skills.

    

   The seven Singapore secondary schools were:
   

   No	Secondary Schools
   1.	Bedok South Secondary School
   2.	Christ Church Secondary School
   3.	Compassvale Secondary School
   4.	Guangyang Secondary School
   5.	Hai Sing Catholic School
   6.	St. Hilda’s Secondary School
   7.	Zhonghua Secondary School

    

    

2. Education and Career Guidance (ECG) Fair, 23-25 July 2023

    

   MOE and the IHLs are organising the Education and Career Guidance Fair, which will feature 78 industry partners, 50 booths, 22 try-a-skill booths, 148 workshops and 36 talks.

    

   Visitors and students at the fair will be able to

    

   1. attend workshops and talks conducted by industry professionals to deepen their understanding of the skills needed for different industries;
   2. explore exhibition booths to discover their interests, skills and purpose as well as explore the different opportunities available; and
   3. try a skill to experience the skills areas at the competition.

       

3. Junior Skills competitions, 24-25 July 2023

    

   Partners	Singapore Science Centre	Cyber Security Agency	VEX Robotics
   Competitions	Drone Odyssey Challenge	Capture the Flag Youth Cyber Exploration Programme (YCEP)	VEX Robotics Challenge
   Details	The competition aims to spur interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) through drones.   The competition features games and problem-solving drone challenges, such as coding and navigation of drones in an obstacle course.	The YCEP is a cybersecurity bootcamp designed to get students excited about their journey towards a cybersecurity career.   Top students with outstanding YCEP scores will have the opportunity to pit their skills against one another in the Central Capture-the-Flag competition.	The robotics competition involves participants designing, building and coding a robot for tele-operated and autonomous robotics routines to solve a teamwork challenge.