The 45th WorldSkills competition closed with 56 skills competitions across the expansive Kazan Expo site completing their four-day Test Projects, which are examinations of technical skill and craft designed to demonstrate world-class industry standards of excellence. These competitions are constantly evolving to reflect the changing world. WorldSkills Kazan 2019 saw medals awarded in several new official skills, while entirely new event categories including FutureSkills and WorldSkills Juniors were added to the roster for this year’s event in Russia. Many other skill competitions — including plumbing — have been part of the WorldSkills portfolio since the very first contests of the 1950s.
This nearly 70-year evolution of the WorldSkills Plumbing competition (officially presented on the WorldSkills international competition stage as Plumbing and Heating) took a significant step forward on the final day of WorldSkills Kazan 2019. For the first time ever, a collaborative and non-assessed team project was introduced for the final day of the Plumbing and Heating competition schedule. In this activity, all Plumbing and Heating competitors and experts (who, combined, represented a total of 31 different countries) worked side by side to re-purpose equipment and materials used in the main Test Project of days one to three, and assembled three new toilet and washroom plumbing systems that will be donated to and installed at a local children’s home. Participants provided valuable feedback at the end of the Team Project, which was designed to allow for hands-on teamwork, communication and skills exchange that are otherwise difficult for competitors to do in the traditional four-day competition structure.
Follow updates from the installation project at the Derbyshkinskiy Orphanage in Kazan via IAPMO social media and our special project hashtag, #SkillsChangeLives. Sponsor of the Uniform Codes, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) works in concert with government and industry for safe, sanitary plumbing and mechanical systems. Learn more about IAPMO at www.iapmo.org