The Mayor of Kazan: “We must hold the best championship in the history of WorldSkills”

(KZN.RU, June 20, Ksenia Shvetsova). Less than 70 days left before one of the most important events of this year, the WorldSkills Kazan 2019. It will take place in Russia for the first time in history. More than 1400 contestants from 67 countries of the world will take part in it. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, ordered to prepare for the championship and take into account all organizational issues during the XXXIV session of the Kazan City Duma in the City Hall.

World Championships are held every 2 years under the auspices of the international organization WorldSkills International. Emil Gubaidullin, the WorldSkills Kazan 2019 project leader, noted that the primary goal of this organization is to increase the prestige of working professions and the development of vocational education in the world.

In May, the final of the seventh national championship WorldSkills Young Professionals in Russia was held in Kazan. The national team of Tatarstan was one of the most numerous. It included 164 competitors in 81 competencies, as well as 96 juniors aged 14–16 in 48 competencies. The national team won first place in the team medal standings, receiving 55 golden, 47 silver, 39 bronze medals and 25 medallions for skill. Representatives of Kazan made an exceptional contribution to the team. They won 49 golden, 32 silver, 23 bronze medals and 9 medallions. The teams of Moscow took the second place, and the third went to the team of the Moscow Oblast.

“The national stage of the championship was a test for us. We saw what we still need to work on to prepare better”, said Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan.

Today, 31 resource centers are operating in the republic, which is the main reference point for the development of the WorldSkills movement. According to E. Gubaidullin, from 2014 to 2018, more than 4.3 billion rubles were spent on their creation in the republic. There are 9 resource centers in Kazan.

The expanded national team of Russia includes 48 representatives of the RT on 37 competencies. 31 of them are studying or working in Kazan. “We do not know yet which of them will represent the republic in the world championship. We hope that shortly, the final composition of the championship will be determined”.

The main competitions will be held at the site of the exhibition center “Kazan Expo”. More than 1400 contestants from 67 countries of the world will take part in them. They will compete in 56 competencies, and 1300 experts will evaluate their skills. More than 3500 volunteers take part in organizing the championship.

Participants will be accommodated in the Universiade Village. More than 5.5 thousand people will live there. In the days of the championship, about 300 buses and minibusses and 100 cars will be involved, including for people with limited mobility.

The traditional large WorldSkills conference for more than 1200 participants from around the world, as well as a summit of ministers of countries belonging to WorldSkills, will be held as part of the world championship.

Within the framework of the championship, the educational program “One school, one country” starts to increase the prestige of working professions. About 3ooo students from Kazan and Tatarstan take part in it. On August 22, national teams of the countries and regions participating in the championship will visit the schools assigned to them under this program. They will speak about the culture of their countries, get acquainted with the cultural features of Russia, and will hold interactive master classes. And from 23 to 26 of August, school students will attend the competition.

The opening ceremony of the championship will take place on August 22. The closing and award ceremony will take place on August 27 at the Kazan Arena stadium.

“Cultural events dedicated to the championship will take place in almost all public spaces of the city. Kazan citizens could take part in lectures, master classes, contests and other interesting events”, said the speaker.

“We are accustomed to working in such a mode, which happens on the eve of important events. Now we are finishing the improvement works. We hope that in June, we will finish everything and the guests will be able to enjoy the beauty of our city”, said I. Metshin. “Once again, I ask you to work out the issues of transportation, accommodation, and meals. All of this should remain under attention. A separate task is the protection of public order, the safety of residents and visitors. We hope that taking into account our experience in holding major international events, we will be able to hold the best championship in the history of the WorldSkills Movement”.

The WorldSkills Kazan 2019 will be held in Kazan from 22 to 27 of August. Online sale of tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies of the WorldSkills Kazan 2019 is conducted on the Championship's website, worldskills2019.com. Ticket price will be from 300 to 1500 rubles.