ASTANA – Kazakh college students won seven Medallions of Excellence at the WorldSkills 2024 competition in Lyon, France, reported Khabar news agency on Sept. 17.
Photo credit: Ministry of Education
The WorldSkills competition featured various disciplines, including IT technologies, robotics, construction, design, fashion, and restaurant service. Kazakhstan ranked among the top 30 countries overall. Students from Almaty, Shymkent, Uralsk, Kostanai, Semei, and Pavlodar earned recognition in their vocational fields.
Daniyar Abikenov, a Kostanai College of Automotive Transport student, described the network and systems administration competition.
“Our task was to build a large network using three operating systems: Linux, Windows, and Cisco. This year introduced a new format with closed tasks. We had no prior knowledge about the assignments, their number, scoring, or focus. It was a new experience for us, and I believe we managed it well,” he said.
WorldSkills is the largest international competition for young specialists under 25. It aims to develop professional skills and promote vocational careers and technical education.
“We are fully engaged in transforming technical and vocational education. We focus on three development areas for our students: integrating startup projects into the college system, enhancing employment opportunities, and facilitating university admission,” Natalya Zhumadildayeva, First Deputy Minister of Education.
This year’s WorldSkills brought together around 1,500 college students from 69 countries.
