90 participants qualified to participate in WorldSkills Malaysia Sarawak 2023 final

KUCHING (Nov 30): Some 90 participants from throughout Sarawak will participate in WorldSkills Malaysia Sarawak (WMS) 2023 final at seven Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions scheduled to take place from Dec 9 to 10.

The participants from various TVET institutions are qualified to compete across 15 skill areas in the final competition following the first phase or pre-qualification stage of the competition, which saw 380 contestants compete in 16 skill areas from Oct 28 to 31.

The prizes for each skill area include a winner’s cash prize of RM3,000, a medal and a certificate; a first runner-up cash prize of RM1,500, a medal and a certificate; and a second runner-up cash prize of RM1,000, a medal and a certificate.

“The overall winner will receive a cash prize of RM5,000, the prestigious ‘Anugerah Tangan Emas Premier Sarawak 2023’, a trophy and a certificate.

“The winners of WorldSkills Malaysia 2023 will be eligible to compete in WorldSkills Malaysia 2024 and will then proceed to represent the state and the country in Asean, Asia WorldSkills international competitions,” said the Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn in a press conference at Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting here yesterday.

WMS 2023 has been held at seven different locations throughout Sarawak, including IKM Kuching, Centexs Kuching, UCSI University, Sarawak Skills, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus, ABM Kuching and Awisar.

Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg is set to officiate the closing ceremony on Dec 11 at Centexs, Santubong, where the ‘Anugerah Tangan Emas Premier Sarawak’ will be awarded to the overall champion.

WMS 2023 is a bi-annual state-level skills competition jointly organised by the Ministry of Education, Innovation and Talent Development of Sarawak (MEITD) in collaboration with Jabatan Pembangunan Kemahiran (JPK) Wilayah Sarawak since 2017.

Sarawak is the only state in Malaysia organising the skills competition, aiming to recognise highly skilled youths and enhance the skills of trainees from public and private TVET institutions in Sarawak.

“The objectives of WMS 2023 are to produce a skilled workforce for industrial needs in Sarawak, create skilled champions capable of competing at the national and international levels, increase awareness and understanding among the public regarding the importance of skills towards nation-building, and create a skills-respect culture,” said Sagah.

Sagah added that the third WMS 2023 aligns with the Sarawak state government’s strategic initiative to promote 16 skills areas contributing to the 13 workforce sectors under the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030.

The 16 skills areas include automobile technology; beauty therapy; fashion technology; hairdressing; cooking; pastry; restaurant service; electrical installations; mechanical engineering CAD; graphic design technology; IT network system administration; IT software solution for business; web technologies; painting and decorating; refrigeration and air-conditioning; and welding.

The competition provides not only a platform for participants to showcase their skills but also for instructors to gain exposure to new technologies and related skill standards.