Brig. Muhammad Sajid Khokhar, SI(M), Retd. Chairperson TEVTA Punjab
A delegation from Pakistan led by Engr. Qamar-ul-Islam Raja, Chairman NAVTTC, myself (Chairperson TEVTA Punjab), Head of Team Europe’s TVET Support Program Mr. Mansoor Zaib Khan and officials from NAVTTC and GIZ were present in Shanghai to witness the 48th World Skills Competitions held in Shanghai from 22nd to 27th September 2026. For Pakistan, this was no less than a historic moment – our first-ever participation in the world’s largest vocational skills Olympics. I returned with a mix of immense pride and a sense of urgency. While our participation was impactful, it exposed the gaps we must bridge to turn this debut into a sustainable legacy of excellence. Pakistan competed in three trades: Electrical Installations, Graphic Design Technology, and Cooking. Just to give an idea about this event, 1385 competitors from 68 countries/regions across the globe were participating in 64 different trades/ technologies with an approx. 500,000 spectators including the Experts, Members, Global Partners, Event sponsors, Volunteers and a large number of school children. Unlike previous years’ competitions, China added value to the event by pairing the WorldSkills Competitions with WorldSkills Conferences and WorldSkills Expo, thus creating a grand stage for showcasing and exchanging cutting-edge skills and technologies. Above all, the way whole event was organised and conducted by China was beyond the imagination of every spectator.
Pakistan having more than 64% youth population and a massive TVET network, this debut was long overdue but participation in 48th WorldSkills was a powerful beginning.The journey to Shanghai was itself a reform. To select our champions, TEVTA Punjab initiated a tiered competition model – starting from District level, to Regional, and then Provincial level. At the National level, organized under NAVTTC, candidates from all provincial TEVTAs and private sector institutes competed. We feel proud to share that students of Punjab TEVTA secured first and second positions in both Electrical Installations and Graphic Design Technology competitions. It was the first time in our TVET history that a genuine sense of competition was inculcated among students, teachers and institutes – to display the best of their teaching, learning and organizational abilities. The impact on our training standards, even in this first round, was visible.
For final selection of participants, Team Europe’s TVET Support Program and GIZ organized an intensive boot-camp for the national position holders. After their rigorous training, Mudassir Hussain, a 3rd year student of DAE Electrical from Govt College of Technology, Sahiwal, was selected to represent Pakistan in Shanghai in Electrical Installations competition while candidates for other trades i.e Nabeed ul Arfeen from MITI Karachi and Mohid Mehboob from COTHAM Lahore were selected for other two trades.
At Shanghai, I not only witnessed the competitions of our three trades, but visited all venues where competitions in 64 trades/technologies were underway simultaneously. It was an extraordinary learning experience. I also had fruitful meetings with officials of “WorldSkills Asia” and “World Skills Germany” to understand how countries build their ecosystem for World Skills.
The Powerful Lessons Shanghai Taught Us
Beyond the competition itself, following aspects struck me the most, which we also need to replicate:
a. Massive Media Coverage Skills Through Media:
In Shanghai we observed, skilled people being treated as national heroes. There was massive, wall-to-wall media coverage – on national TV, social media, and print – promoting competitors. Their stories, their institutes, their teachers were being celebrated like athletes. This visibility is what restores dignity to vocational education. In Pakistan, we need our national media to project our skilled youth as role models. A plumber, a chef or an electrician winning for Pakistan must get the same prime-time coverage as any other achiever.
b. Awards and Career Security for High Performers:
In competing countries, high performance in WorldSkills is directly linked to tangible rewards. Govtsoffer cash awards, overseas scholarships and guaranteed public sector job preferences. Industry offers on-the-spot high-paid job offers, sponsorships and start-up support. This is the model we must adopt. TEVTAs and NAVTTC can work with the Federal and Provincial govts to announce a formal reward policy: cash awards, preference in govt jobs, and facilitation for international employment for national winners. Unless a skill is seen to pay, parents will not send their children to it.
c. Catching Them Young – Inspiring Children:
One of the most inspiring sights in Shanghai Expo was the dedicated “Try-A-Skill” zones. Hundreds of stalls were set up where children, accompanied by their parents, were being given opportunity of hands-on experience – dummy welding with VR glasses, IT and coding games, cooking, and seeing and talking to live robots. This early exposure is designed to inculcate a desire for skill education and break the myth that TVET is a second choice. We must introduce such Skill Carnivals at our district and regional levels.
What We Must Learn and Build
WorldSkills is not just a competition; it is a quality benchmark and will allow us to improve quality of TVET Education. If Pakistan is to participate regularly and competitively which it must, we need to build some permanent structure for this:
a. At NAVTTC – National Level:
We need a dedicated WorldSkills Pakistan Secretariat within NAVTTC with a full-time team. This Secretariat should be the custodian of WorldSkills standards, translate WorldSkills Occupational Standards into our curricula, maintain a national pool of experts and chief experts, and run a National Skills Competition Calendar every year. We need National Skill Labs equipped exactly as per WorldSkills specifications – not our outdated labs. The Secretariat should also be mandated to formally affiliate with WorldSkills International and WorldSkills Asia.
b. At Provincial TEVTA Level:
Every province must establish a WorldSkills Cell and Centers of Excellence for priority trades. The model we piloted in Punjab – District to Province – must be institutionalized across Pakistan. Our instructors need training as WorldSkills experts. They need international exposure, not just local trainings. We must move from theoretical exams to competency-based, timed, project-based assessments as WorldSkills does.
Impact on Our TVET System
Regular participation will transform our system in many ways, mainly as under:
a. First, it will raise our training quality to international standards. When you train to compete with Germany, Korea, China and Switzerland, mediocrity is not an option.
b. Second, it will restore dignity to skilled work. When a young electrician from Sahiwal represents Pakistan on the world stage, it sends a message to millions that skills are as prestigious as degrees.
c. Third, it will directly improve employability abroad. Our workforce competing on World Skills standards will be automatically accepted in the Gulf, Europe and Far East markets.
The Need for Industry and Development Partner Ownership
One striking lesson in Shanghai was the industry sponsorship. The Indian delegation, for instance, was sponsored by the Naveen Jindal Foundation of Jindal Steel.
[Pakistan Hamesha Zindabad]
