Vocational education is a business card of Tianjin. With the opening of the first World Vocational College Skills Competition, the influence of "Tianjin Vocational Education" will be further enhanced.

A contestant competes in the maze robot competition during the 2022 World Vocational College Skills Competition inTianjin. [Photo/tjyun.com]

The 2022 World Vocational College Skills Competition kicked off online and in person in the northern port city of Tianjin on Aug 8. It attracted about 1,000 contestants from 70 countries and regions.

With a theme of "showing off youth with skills for the future", two competition areas were set up in Tianjin municipality and Jiangxi province, taking 15 competition events and eight exhibition events. The Tianjin competition area, which is the main venue, hosted 13 competition events and eight exhibition events.

Compared with other general competitions, the World Vocational College Skills Competition places emphasis on friendly exchanges and mutual learning.

In order to enhance friendship, the organizer required that Chinese and foreign players should work together to complete various competitions.

On Aug 8, the first competition featuring "Information Technology Application Innovation" was held in Tianjin Electronic Information Vocational and Technical College. Two players from the Luban workshop in Russia joined the Tianjin team online and fought side by side with two Chinese contestants to install and debug the computer system, and repair the loopholes during the operation of the system.

Yevgeny Kabekin, a contestant from Moscow State University of Communication and Information Technology, said: "We have learned more systematic information technology in the Russia Luban workshop. Tianjin students also have solid professional skills and serious attitudes. Hoping that we can achieve good results.”

The exhibition category is not as intense as the competition, but it is equally fascinating.

A contestant displays tea art skills during the 2022 World Vocational College Skills Competition inTianjin. [Photo/tjyun.com]

As for exhibition competitions, those were displayed included not only high-level intelligent technologies such as "embedded technology application development", but also unique Chinese traditional culture.

On Aug 9, the "Chinese Tea Art" competition was held at Tianjin Business Vocational College. Players from Pakistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Malawi, North Korea and other countries had a glimpse of Chinese tea art culture together with Chinese players.

On site of the “Traditional Chinese Medicine Skills” exhibition competition hosted by Tianjin Medical College and Tianjin Red Star Vocational Secondary School, Chinese and foreign students jointly offered performances of making medicinal diets, sewing medicine sachets and baduanjin, a traditional form of aerobics. On the day of the competition, students from the Mali Luban Workshop in Africa also watched the competition through video.

The "Chinese cuisine" exhibition organized by Tianjin Economic and Trade School has a keyword: family banquet. During this time, a British student Lauren Firth said: "My study in Britain Luban Workshop gave me a deeper understanding of Chinese cooking skills and concepts. The time-honored Chinese dishes are really great!"

Portuguese guests visit the Tianjin Vocational College of Mechanics and Electricity. [Photo/tjyun.com]

There are 26 higher vocational colleges, 45 technical secondary schools and 22 technical colleges in Tianjin, with more than 300 majors. In the past five years, Tianjin vocational colleges have cultivated more than 260,000 qualified graduates, and about 58 percent of them found jobs in the local area.

Tianjin has received strong support from the state and has undertaken the mission of advancing innovation. In 2005, the Ministry of Education (MOE) signed a contract with Tianjin to jointly build a national vocational education reform pilot zone. In 2022, the MOE and Tianjin will start to create a benchmark for the innovation and development of vocational education in the new era.

Tianjin is also giving full play to its advantages and actively going abroad. So far, 20 Luban workshops have been built in 19 countries in Asia, Africa and Europe, and Tianjin Luban workshops are well-known at home and abroad. The city's vocational colleges have also extensively participated in poverty alleviation cooperation and counterpart support between East and West China.