Talented young people from Shanghai, including vocational school students, university postgraduates and enterprise employees, shined with confidence at the 1st Vocational Skills Competition of China recently held in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong Province.

In total, 97 contestants from Shanghai took part in every one of the competition's 86 categories – the largest ever in China – taking home 10 gold, 10 silver and seven bronze medals as well as 45 medallions for excellence. They also secured places on national training teams in 46 skill categories for the 46th WorldSkills Competition taking place in Shanghai in 2022.

Floristry creates beauty

Among the winners is Yang Lingzhi, 21, a graduate of the Shanghai Vocational College of Agriculture and Forestry, who won a gold medal in floristry.

Yang said she began learning floristry last year and became fascinated by it.

“I found floristry is not merely putting flowers together but a vocation of artistic creation based on a collocation of flowers and the environment,” she said. “It can add beauty to our lives.”

According to her coaches, Yang won because she is very careful and patient and her designs are always exquisite, perfectly matching colors and flower shapes with the environment or a bride’s body and clothes.

To prepare for the national event, she began training in May. In the past seven months, she spent almost eight hours on training every workday.

The national competition consisted of nine tasks, including cut-flower, bridal bouquet and wreath and flower jewelry. Four were publicized before the competition while the other five were not.

“I was stunned at the beginning during the cut-flower task because I found the materials provided by organizers weren't what I used during my training,” Yang said. “We had to finish the task in two hours, but I spent half an hour just building up the frame, which took less than 15 minutes in training. I was nervous at that time, but I told myself to calm down and do it step by step, which I did.”

Yang said she will dedicate herself to preparing for the 46th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai. In the long run, she wants to become a florist like her idol – German floral designer Gregor Lersch.

Decent restaurant service

For Wu Yu, 20, a teacher at Le Cordon Bleu Shanghai, it’s his third time competing to represent China in the WorldSkills Competition. He won a silver medal in restaurant service at the national competition, but still has a chance to show off his skills in the world event.

“I was only 16 when I received training in this skill category for the first time, and I focused on how to win the competition,” Wu said. “But now, I am immersed in improving on detailed service skills and staying calm.”

Wu is an air service graduate from the Shanghai Business and Tourism School, but showed interest and talent in the skill when taking an optional course in restaurant service.

His competition category tests skills ranging from setting up tables and communicating with customers to peeling fish and chicken and making coffee and salad. Participants had to serve 12 customers in two groups comprised of teachers and students at vocational schools in Guangzhou.

As the competition is a category in the WorldSkills Competition and carried out in the Western tradition, it’s quite different from Chinese customs.

“For example, when we cut an orange, we can't touch the fruit directly with our hands," he said. "We have to fix it with a knife and fork and cut off the peel step by step. When serving the salad, we have to give each customer the same portion with the same ingredients. We also have to help customers avoid any indecencies. Therefore, we have to control the amount of juice we use when making salads."

His coach Sun Jianhui said the school not only provides training on each single skill for Wu and other students, but also arranges internships at top Western restaurants in Shanghai to enrich them with real-life service experiences.

Wu received many offers when he graduated but chose to work for the culinary academy, share his skills and experiences with students and further improve himself in the competition.

“With the development of Shanghai, the city has a large number of restaurants and hotels, which brings huge demand for talent like Wu,” said Sun.

Delicious and healthy bread

Zhong Baogen, 20, an employee with French yeast manufacturer Lesaffre, won silver medal in the bakery category. He made nearly 100 breads in 10.5 hours, ranging from white toast and Danish pastry to baguettes and artistic bread designs.

Zhong’s parents and some of his relatives work in the bakery industry, and he decided to make it his career at an early age. He studied food biotechnology at the Shanghai Trade School.

Zhong participated in the selection of potential participants for the 45th WorldSkills Competition last year, and his outstanding performance attracted attention from Chen Yuxiang, a manager at Lesaffre’s baking center in Shanghai. Zhong joined Lesaffre after graduation. His job is to teach the company’s clients how to properly use its yeasts and make bread that is both delicious and healthy.

Chen said competitions drive people to improve their skills and inspire innovation.

“Competitions and the recognition of talented workers can attract more people to work in the industry and improve their skills, which helps develop the industry,” he said. “In terms of bakeries, it means people will be able to enjoy more delicious and healthy bread.”

Industry 4.0

Two postgraduates from Tongji University – Hua Peiwen and Wan Zhiyao – won silver medals in Industry 4.0, a new skill category that will be featured in the 46th WorldSkills Competition in 2022 for the first time in response to the impact of information and communication technologies on manufacturing and production processes.

In the competition, Hua and Wan had to assemble hardware, program and design cybersecurity measures, and use digital simulation technology and other tools to build an efficient production system. Skills required include technical engineering, electronics, automation, communication and programming.

Both Hua and Wan are technical engineering majors, but they had to enhance their technical skills for the competition.

Wan said the competition made them better understand real production processes and details behind Industry 4.0.

“Take sensors for example,” said Hua. “We focus on their operating principles at the university, but for the competition we learned more, including their functions, structures and installation measures.”

Their coach Wu Qiang said Industry 4.0 requires interdisciplinary talent, but there's a lack of people with sufficient knowledge and skills to handle the entire production process.

“I think the participation of universities in the skill category can make technologies and skills better integrated and facilitate the development of Industry 4.0 and cultivation of interdisciplinary talent,” said Wu.

Both Hua and Wan said they believe Industry 4.0 is a promising industry and will focus on it in their future studies and work.

Hua Peiwen (standing) and Wan Zhiyao work feverishly during the competition.