Twenty-nine young South Africans are testing their technical skills in Shanghai, showing how vocational training can open pathways into employment, entrepreneurship and economic participation at home.
Team South Africa is competing at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, where young artisans and technical professionals are measuring their abilities against international standards in fields directly linked to infrastructure, industry and the future economy.
The South African team is competing in 27 skills categories, including Mechatronics, Aircraft Maintenance, Plumbing and Heating, Refrigeration, Construction and Water Technology.
Behind the medals, however, is a bigger opportunity for South Africa.
The country continues to need skilled artisans and technical professionals capable of supporting construction, manufacturing, energy, transport, water systems and other parts of the economy where practical skills translate directly into jobs and productive capacity.
WorldSkills gives young people an opportunity to demonstrate that vocational education can lead to highly specialised careers rather than being viewed as a second choice to university education.
The competition runs from 22 to 27 September and brings together more than 1,400 young skilled professionals from over 70 countries and regions across 64 skills competitions, according to WorldSkills International.
South Africa’s competitors reached Shanghai after progressing through regional competitions and the WorldSkills South Africa National Competition held in Durban in March.
For renewable energy competitor Simiso Biyela, reaching the international stage represents an opportunity to demonstrate what South African technical talent can achieve.
“It is an exciting opportunity for myself, and also for all my counterparts. We will give it everything to ensure that we go home with a gold medal, particularly in our category,” Biyela told SABC News.
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister Nomusa Dube-Ncube, who is leading the South African delegation, said the competitors had earned their places through hard work and discipline.
She encouraged the group to recognise that their participation represents more than their individual performance.
The young competitors are also demonstrating possible career paths to thousands of other South Africans considering technical and vocational education.
That matters in a country where stronger links between training and employment remain essential.
Technical skills can create different routes into the economy, including formal employment, apprenticeships, contracting and entrepreneurship.
A qualified plumber, refrigeration technician, aircraft maintenance specialist or renewable energy technician can potentially work for an established company, enter a specialised industry or eventually build an independent business employing others.
Department of Higher Education and Training Director-General Nkosinathi Sishi said WorldSkills can help challenge perceptions surrounding TVET education and encourage more young people to consider artisan careers.
“WorldSkills demonstrates what is possible when young people are given the opportunity to develop and showcase their technical abilities,” he said.
South Africa’s participation also allows its training institutions to compare their standards with countries that have developed strong vocational education systems.
Competitors are judged on factors including technical accuracy, problem solving, speed, quality and their ability to perform professional tasks under competition conditions.
The experience can therefore expose both competitors and educators to international techniques, technologies and workplace expectations.
But the social impact of skills development depends on what happens after training.
National Skills Fund Acting Chief Executive Officer Melissa Erra has called on companies to create opportunities for young people emerging from programmes such as WorldSkills.
Government investment in training can prepare young people for work, but employers ultimately determine whether many of those skills are converted into apprenticeships, workplace experience, permanent employment and commercial opportunities.
“Our investment in WorldSkills South Africa is an investment in the potential of our young people and, ultimately, in the future of our economy,” Erra said.
She said industry had an important role in opening pathways that allow young people to continue developing and applying their skills.
That relationship between education and industry is particularly important as technology changes traditional occupations.
Fields such as renewable energy, automation, mechatronics and advanced manufacturing increasingly require workers who combine practical technical ability with digital and problem-solving skills.
WorldSkills itself has expanded to include emerging occupations as countries respond to changing technology and labour-market requirements.
For South Africa, the Shanghai competition therefore provides more than an opportunity to win medals.
It offers a chance to demonstrate what young people can achieve when training, equipment, mentorship and international exposure are combined.
The longer-term opportunity is to ensure that the same standard of skills development reaches more young people at home and connects them directly with industries that need their abilities.
If that connection is strengthened, TVET and artisan training can become an increasingly important pathway from education into employment, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods.
South Africa’s 29 competitors may be representing the country on a global stage this week, but the larger measure of success will be whether thousands more young people can build viable futures through the skills they represent.
