The preparation week meeting for the 48th WorldSkills Competition was launched in Shanghai on Feb 2, marking a milestone as the event enters its final sprint, with 232 days until the opening ceremony.

"To deliver a novel and influential WorldSkills Competition for the world requires not only conceptual reconstruction, innovative leadership, and institutional guarantees but also broad consensus and commitment from all parties involved," Wang Xiaoping, minister of human resources and social security and executive director of the 48th WorldSkills Competition organizing committee, said.

Wang also articulated the vision to introduce a declaration that consolidates consensus among all parties and showcases more achievements, advancing the global skills movement toward new development.

Gong Zheng, mayor of Shanghai and executive director of the organizing committee, emphasized the high-quality work being undertaken in venue facilities, promotion, and service support.

"We will spare no effort in ensuring the successful hosting of the 48th WorldSkills Competition," Gong said.

"We aim to transform WorldSkills into an accelerator for talent cultivation, a booster for new quality productive forces, and an amplifier for high-level opening-up," he said.

Reflecting on Shanghai's WorldSkills journey, which began in 2017, David Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International, praised China's unwavering commitment, noting that "Shanghai will become the focal point of the global skills movement this year".

"China possesses the world's largest vocational education and training system, and hosting the WorldSkills Competition will further advance China's skills development," Hoey noted.