Young skilled talent recognised in WorldSkills Hong Kong Competition and gearing up for WorldSkills Shanghai 2022
Winners of over 30 skills areas were awarded for their outstanding skills performance in WorldSkills Hong Kong Competition 2019/2020. Representatives will be chosen to take part in the WorldSkills Competition to be held in Shanghai in October next year.
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Hailed as the Skills Olympics, WorldSkills Competition has become the foremost event promoting vocational and professional education as well as skills excellence. Nearly 400 young talents took part in 34 competition skills in the WorldSkills Hong Kong Competition, marking a record number of skills and contestants, to compete for a place to represent Hong Kong in the global event. Competitors challenged themselves in Visual Merchandising, Cloud Computing, Cooking, and Mobile Robotics, just to name a few. New skills trades were also introduced this year to reflect global industry’s demand for cutting-edge technologies and emerging specialised skills, while providing a platform for young people to unleash their skills excellence.
Digital Construction
Digital Construction is one of the new trades expected to make its first appearance at WorldSkills Shanghai 2022. So Kin Wa, a graduate of Higher Diploma in Surveying with Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) and a student studying top-up degree in Quantity Surveying at School for Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE), is one of the winners of the local competition gearing up for a place to represent Hong Kong in WorldSkills Shanghai in this trade.
“Evolved from Building Information Modelling (BIM) to cover more specialised skills, Digital Construction is a process of creating and managing data throughout the construction project, with the objective of producing better buildings,” So explained.
Currently working as a BIM modeller, So found BIM’s wide range of applications are fascinating. “I first learned about BIM in the Higher Diploma programme at IVE. When I interned at a BIM company, I further developed my skills with BIM software,” he noted.
At the competition, contestants are required to design a construction project based on instructions released only at the start of the contest. “Preparation is challenging because there are no past questions for our reference,” So said.
“The global demand for Digital Construction is on the rise. The adoption of BIM is growing for public works projects. Well-established developers have adopted BIM for their projects in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area,” Ir Brian Leung, the Expert of Digital Construction competition skills trade and also the Deputy Head of Department of Construction at IVE said.
Mechatronics
Winners of the Mechatronics category, Peter Liu Chun Pang and Leon Lui Shing Faat, get along well with their coach Ricky Leung Wai Kit, who participated in the WorldSkills Competition in 2015. Team Hong Kong has been achieving excellent results in the Mechatronics trades in the WorldSkills Competition in the past years. As the Expert of Mechatronics for WorldSkills Hong Kong and the Lecturer of the Department of Engineering at IVE, Ricky Leung is able to share his competition experience and strategies, “Together with the support of industry partners, we are hopeful for participating and achieving good results in the world event.”
Competing as a team, Peter Liu will be responsible for programming and Leon Lui will work on the assembling of equipment and mechanical parts for setting up an automated system. Both are graduates of IVE’s Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering programme. “Teamwork and adequate division of labour are essential because we are expected to complete many tasks during the 4-day contest,” Leon Lui noted. Weekly mock tests were offered to help them identify possible challenges during the contest and sharpen their problem-solving skills.
BeChangeMaker
On top of sharpening his skills for the WorldSkills competition, Leon Lui’s career aspiration is to establish a social enterprise specialised in 3D printing architecture and apply his skills for social good. Leon Lui and several like-minded friends from Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering of IVE formed a team which was nominated by WorldSkills Hong Kong Secretariat to enter the BeChangeMaker 2021, a social entrepreneurship acceleration programme organised by the WorldSkills International.
Through online business and social entrepreneurial training, the team was coached and mentored by executives at a multinational corporation for three months. “Our project “Dream Machine” focuses on using 3D printing construction to build houses for a community that promotes integration, safety and protection against natural hazards. It is guided by one of the sustainable development goals set by the United Nations,” Leon Lui noted, who was the team leader.
Given the dedicated efforts by Leon Lui and his teammates, the “Dream Machine” project reached the top 15, out of a total of 378 teams from around the world. “Through leading the project, I have honed my communication and leadership skills which are vital for our future careers. It also helped me to understand different aspects of starting a business,” Leon Lui said.