Decoding the medals haul in world skills competition

That Chinese participants bagged 36 gold, nine silver and four bronze medals at the 47th WorldSkills Competition is testimony to the enhanced education of its labor force.

Held in Lyon, France, from Sept 10 to 15, the 47th WorldSkills Competition covers 59 categories ranging from manufacturing and engineering technology to transportation and logistics, and social and personal services. Some of the categories in which Chinese participants bagged gold, such as airplane maintenance and autonomous mobile robotics, require high engineering skills. By October 2022, the number of licensed airplane maintenance professionals had reached 63,000, while in April 2024 the Civil Aviation Administration of China honored 20 of them with the title of "civil aviation master".

Even in the field of mechatronics, a multidisciplinary field that integrates mechanical, electronic, and computing systems to create smarter products and processes; mechanical engineering and manufacturing team challenge, China has made major contributions by producing rich, educated human resources. After all, the average years of education for every labor in China was raised from 8 years in 1982 to 11.1 years in 2023, while the average years of education for the new labor force reached 14 years in 2023.

That Chinese participants have for three successive sessions got gold in autonomous mobile robotics and other programs further shows China's advantages in these areas.

It's also notable that Chinese participants got gold in jewelry, 3D digital game art, and fashion technology. These achievements are in accordance with China's progress in the daily service sector. As their incomes have increased, Chinese people are paying more attention to quality of life, which has in turn boosted the prosperity of the fashion and jewelry sectors.

In a word, the hardworking Chinese people are paying more attention to how they spend their daily lives.