What if there was an Olympic Games for skills? Imagine an event where the world's most talented electronics designers, bricklayers, stonemasons, hairdressers and chefs could all compete. Well, there is, and there is a good chance that you have never heard of it. Its name is WorldSkills and it was held last week in London.
The WorldSkills competition is held every two years, and traces it's inspiration from an event held in Spain in 1947. It has evolved into a fantastic international competition for young people from a huge range in industries. The competitors must be younger than 23 and can only enter once, and they are chosen to be the best in their field.
I became aware of WorldSkills because a good friend competed in the 2007 event in Japan. When he told us that the 2011 competition was being held in the UK, my wife and I decided that we wanted to be part of the atmosphere - we even took baby Henry with us!
To say that I was impressed would be a huge understatement. Firstly, I was knocked out by the sheer scale of the event. Both halls of the ExCeL centre in London were full of young people, the very best in their countries, competing in their chosen trade. And then there was the range of skills that were so openly on show. I encourage you to visit the WorldSkills website to view all of the categories that were represented, but I just want to mention one or two of my personal favourites.
For me, the most inspirational aspect of the competition is that the entrants use their very practical skills to create beautiful works of art. I was drawn to the Confectionery competition, not just because it is my friend's profession, but also because of the skill and application that is required to produce something like this (entirely from sugar, by the way!)...
I was also fascinated by the Stonemasonry. I watched the UK entrant, Christopher Berridge, working for some time and it was hugely impressive to see someone carving stone with the subtlety of a surgeon. As a nice side note, congratulations to Christopher for winning a Gold medal for his efforts!
While you can say that these skills have little to do with electronics, I am positive that WorldSkills is something that our industry should embrace. I can think of few other events that so clearly encourage excellence in a person's chosen profession, or give individuals the opportunity to showcase their talent on a global stage.
The next competition will be held in Leipzig in 2013. I am going to do my best to be there, and somehow get involved. I highly recommend that you consider it too.
