India wins 8 Medallions of Excellence at WorldSkills International Competition 2015, Brazil

The 43rd WorldSkills International Competition from 11-16 August 2015 concluded with India bagging 8 Medallions of Excellence. 59 countries and 1189 competitors participated at the 43rd WorldSkills International Competitions 2015 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The WorldSkills are the penultimate competition for skills that bring together the best competitors in each trade from different countries.

Team India comprised 29 competitors in 27 skills led by the National Skill Development Corporation under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship. CII supported 7 skills namely Beauty Therapy (Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council), CNC Milling (Bosch), CNC Turning (Bosch), Electronics (Electronics Sector Skill Council), Hair Dressing (Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council), Mechatronics (Festo) & Welding (Mahindra & Mahindra).

Amongst the 8 Medallions of Excellence awarded to the contestants, 3 were awarded to CII led trades (Beauty Therapy, Hair Dressing & Welding). CII has enabled the competitors to avail training for a period of 6 months from Industry along with access to state of the art equipment. Mr Sachin Narale of the Welding trade (led by Mahindra) was awarded a medallion in the ‘Best of Nations’ category

"The competitors have done us proud and it was good to witness youngsters of our country dedicating themselves to their chosen skills," said Mr Pramod Bhasin, Chairman, CII National Committee on Skill Development (Founder, GENPACT) and Chairman, The Skills Academy.

“CII congratulates all the Indian competitors at the WorldSkills Competition 2015. The Indian contingent has bagged 8 Medallions of Excellence, with 3 awardees supported by CII Industry Members. This triumph reiterates the huge potential that our youth possess. With continued support and training from Industry, we hope our Indian contingents can scale greater heights at international skill competitions and thereby making skills aspirational.” said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry.
WorldSkills International Competitions not only promotes skills but showcases the strength and support by industry. Mr Narasimha Rao, MD, Burckhardt Compression opined that “Skill competitions are a great opportunity for Indian industry to plan for a pool of talented workforce. The competitions are a platform for industry to invest in the skilled workforce of the country."

CII mounted a 25 strong member delegation to witness the WorldSkills International Competitions. The delegation led by Mr Pramod Bhasin met with Federation of Industries of the state of São Paulo (FIESP) and The National Service for Industrial Training (Senai). Both CII and Senai have a long standing work agreement. In the light of developments in the skill development landscape, both organisations are keen to renew the agreement.

Participation of State Ministers and Senior representatives from the administration demonstrated the government’s focus to partner Industry in creating a pool of skilled manpower.

The dedication by the Indian team was evident and CII is confident that corporate India is committed to a higher performance for the WorldSkills International Competitions 2017, Abu Dhabi.