Kazan may host WorldSkills International Competition 2019

Russia and Kazan’s participation in the 2019 WorldSkills International bid campaign was discussed within the 2nd WorldSkills Russia national championship at Kazan Fair today.
Natalia Zolotareva, director of Russian Education and Science Ministry’s State Policy for Working Staff and Additional Education Department, Tatarstan Education and Science Minister Engel Fattakhov, WorldSkills International President Simon Bartley, Russian WorldSkills International technical delegate Pavel Chernykh and other officials attended the presentation.
“Hosting even the national championship gives a great boost to the region’s professional education development, whilst international championship may be a stimulus for the whole country,” Zolotareva pointed out.
“We plan to present Kazan as a capital of a fast-growing region that is in need of professional workers, develops this sphere and constructs venues that can host such events,” Lidia Frolova, head of a working group, shared.
Pavel Chernykh said that the application is planned to be presented at the general assembly’s meeting in Lucerne, Swiss, this autumn. The vote will be held in Sao Paolo in August 2015 with Russia, France, Belgium and China competing for the opportunity to host the event.
According to Engel Fattakhov, the republic will require 98,000 representatives of 440 occupations in 2014-2016, regular labor force will amount to 35 percent of the demand. He also pointed out that 103 vocational colleges teaching 80,000 students work in Tatarstan. Over the last five years, the number of educational programs of these institutions more than doubled.
“According to the concept, we present both the existing infrastructure and the one that will be constructed in the coming years. Kazan Expo that is planned to be built by 2018 will have the required number of exhibition venues and rooms for holding congresses,” Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate DG Azat Kadyrov stated.
Simon Bartley stated that it is too early to forecast Kazan’s chances of winning the right to host the international championship. According to him, there are several criteria taken into account when choosing the host. These include infrastructure, venues to organize the events and hotels for the participants, etc.