By 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 WorldSkills 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 “WorldSkills Germany” to understand how countries build their eco-system for WorldSkills.
The Powerful Lessons Shanghai Taught Us
Beyond the competition itself, following aspects struck me the most, which we also need to replicate:
- 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.
- Awards and Career Security for High Performers:
In competing countries, high performance in WorldSkills is directly linked to tangible rewards. Govts offer 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Third, it will directly improve employability abroad. Our workforce competing on WorldSkills 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. In China, Germany and Brazil, industry not only sponsors but co-trains competitors, provides equipment and offers jobs. In Pakistan, we must replicate this. Our large industrial groups – in construction, manufacturing, hospitality and IT – must adopt trades. This is the best CSR investment they can make.
Likewise, Pakistani corporations – from Engro and Nestle to local manufacturing giants – must adopt a WorldSkills team. Sponsoring a skill champion is not charity; it is an investment in the future workforce of Pakistan.
Role of International Donor Organizations working in Pakistan
I must acknowledge the critical role of GIZ and the Team Europe TVET Support Program played starting from registration, preparations/ conduct of training through international trainers and all other technical and financial support. Pakistan’s this first ever participation would not have been possible without this support. But donor support cannot be a permanent feature. The Federal and Provincial stake holders must now create a dedicated budget line for WorldSkills Pakistan – for national competitions, boot camps, and participation.
I will sum-up with the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu saying, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Pakistan has taken that single, historic step in Shanghai. But we cannot stop here. We must institutionalize participation in WorldSkills. We must build the infrastructure to support it. We must create the incentives to reward it. And we must change the mindset to celebrate it.
In the 21st century, a degree without skill is just a piece of paper. Pakistan’s economic sovereignty lies in the skilled hands of its youth. Let Shanghai 2026 be remembered not as a one-time wonder, but as the moment Pakistan truly embarked on its journey to become a skills-driven, prosperous, and globally competitive nation.
Pakistan Hamesha Zindabad
