The global stage for youth skills competitions is becoming a showcase for the achievements of vocational education in various countries and a key support for economic and social development.
At the end of August 2025, the WorldSkills Competition for Colleges and Universities (WSUC) was launched in multiple competition zones across China. More than a thousand contestants from 28 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government, as well as overseas countries, competed fiercely on 42 tracks. This competition, jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and 32 other ministries and industry organizations, has become the world's largest vocational college skills competition platform.
Meanwhile, vocational school students from all over China achieved outstanding results on the competition stage—the Chongqing team won 246 awards, including 63 gold medals, setting a new record for the city since its participation.
01 Competition Upgrade: From a Chinese Stage to a Global Platform
The WorldSkills Competition for Colleges and Universities marks a significant milestone in the internationalization of China's vocational education. This competition evolved from the National Vocational College Skills Competition, which had been held for 16 consecutive years. It was officially upgraded to the WorldSkills Competition for Colleges and Universities in 2024.
The 2025 competition, themed "Skills Shine in Youth, Abilities Create the Future," highlighted three key elements: "Exquisite Skills, Youthful Spirit, and a Better Life." The competition was unprecedented in scale, featuring 42 tracks covering multiple fields closely related to economic development, including CNC machining, catering services, advanced manufacturing, and next-generation information technology.
02 China's Achievements: A Vivid Demonstration of a Skills-Driven Nation
Chinese students performed exceptionally well in the 2025 competition. The Chongqing team won 63 gold, 93 silver, and 90 bronze medals, achieving a winning rate of 87.54%, a record high.
Zhejiang Ningbo Beilun Hongtu Senior Technical School won a gold medal in the "Healthy Aging and Infant Care" track. This is not only the first gold medal won by a vocational school in Beilun District in this international competition, but also the first gold medal in the field of health and wellness for vocational education in Ningbo.
Hainan Medical University won a silver medal in the Artificial Intelligence track. The school's team developed an "Automatic Embryo Morphology Assessment System Based on Deep Learning," showcasing its innovative capabilities in the integration of medicine and engineering.
03 Industry-Education Integration: Seamless Connection from Competition to Workplace
The competition is not only a stage for skills competitions but also an important vehicle for promoting industry-education integration. The 2025 competition plan explicitly identifies "actively supporting the innovation of industry-education integration mechanisms" as one of its main objectives.
During the preparation period, Chongqing Vocational College of Industry and Commerce collaborated with enterprises, introduced advanced technical standards, and achieved deep integration of industry and education and resource sharing.
The Jiangyang Urban Construction Vocational College team won the bronze medal in the Geological Exploration and Geographical Surveying track of the 2025 competition. This marks the fourth consecutive year that the school has achieved excellent results in this type of competition.
04 The Essence of Education: Demonstrating the Comprehensive Value of Vocational Education
The core of the World Vocational Skills Competition is education. The 2025 competition plan clearly states that it is necessary to "continuously strengthen the comprehensive educational function of the competition," emphasizing a comprehensive assessment of skill levels, professional qualities, teamwork, practical application, and innovation.
In the electromechanical equipment installation and maintenance track, the competition not only assesses students' technical application abilities but also emphasizes professional qualities such as teamwork and standardized operations, ultimately supplying the high-end equipment manufacturing industry with highly skilled personnel possessing innovative spirit.
05 International Perspective: China's Global Contribution to Vocational Education
As the host country, China has built a platform for global vocational education exchange and mutual learning through the WorldSkills Competition. The 2025 competition innovatively established overseas competition zones in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa, and Europe, combining "going out" to on-site competitions with "inviting in" to online participation.
This initiative provides a global stage for vocational education workers and students to showcase themselves, exchange ideas, and improve together, promoting the high-quality development of global vocational education.
The WorldSkills Competition has witnessed the transformation of vocational education from a "secondary choice" to a "strategic support." Just as the 2025 competition theme, "Skills Shine in Youth, Abilities Create the Future," conveys, these young skilled talents are using their superb skills to create their own future.
At the same time, by hosting such international competitions, China not only showcases the achievements of vocational education, but also contributes Chinese wisdom and solutions to the development of vocational education globally.
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