'Skills Olympics': Singapore wins gold for visual merchandising and freight forwarding

LYON, France — Over four days, 19-year-old Victoria Cheong's task was to create eye-catching visual displays for the windows and interiors of shops and department stores, to maximise sales.

The third-year student in experiential product and interior design from Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) did so well, she beat 13 others from around the world to win a gold medal in the visual merchandising category at the biennial WorldSkills international competition.

This was the first time Singapore has won a gold in this skill area, and it was one of two gold medals for the Republic at the contest of vocational skills, which was held in Lyon, France. The event was held from Sept 10 to 15.

The Singapore contingent also won four silver medals, two bronze medals and 11 medallions of excellence which are given to competitors who score 700 or more points, but are not awarded a gold, silver, or bronze medal.

Overall, China emerged top with 49 medals, 36 of which were gold, while Korea came in second with 10 golds among its 32 medals.

Cheong told The Straits Times that although preparation for the competition was rigorous, and at times she felt lonely training solo, she knew she had to keep herself in good spirits to do well.

"I just needed to shift my mindset to a positive one, and I would be able to do better," she said, adding that the win came as a surprise to her.

She also bagged the best of nation medal, which is awarded to the top performer from each participating country or region.

Temasek Polytechnic international trade and logistics student Werrill Wong, 19, was the other gold medallist, emerging top among four in the freight-forwarding contest.

The Republic has been especially successful in this skill area with this being the fourth consecutive international competition where it has received a medal, and the second time it has garnered gold.

A total of 35 young people from Singapore's polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education and transport operator SBS Transit have been competing over the last few days at WorldSkills, dubbed the "Olympics of Skills".

It featured a record 1,400 competitors from more than 70 countries and regions. They were evaluated across 60 skill areas, such as aircraft maintenance, bakery, car painting and electrical installations.

The Singapore contingent took part in 30 categories.

The four silver medals were won in graphic design technology, 3D digital game art, water technology and restaurant service, while bronze medals were won for web technologies and cloud computing.

The eleven medallions of excellence were won in trades such as electronics, cyber security, hotel reception and digital construction.

The 19 award winners will also be given cash prizes funded by SkillsFuture Singapore, ITE and the polytechnics.

Gold winners get $20,000. For silver and bronze medallists, the prizes are $10,000 and $5,000 respectively. Those who receive medallions of excellence get $1,000.

Selina Sapii, 22, who graduated from Republic Polytechnic in May 2024 won a silver for restaurant service. She said: "It was nerve-wracking. There were a lot of difficulties that I faced, but with all the training and effort I put in, I'm glad I was able to make everyone proud."

The restaurant and culinary operations graduate, who was up against 35 other competitors, had been training for this event for two years, and even returned to RP after graduation to train from 9am to 5pm on weekdays.

During the gruelling four days of competition, she had to provide food and drink services to guests in hotels and restaurants, showing attentiveness and understanding of their needs and expectations. This included demonstrating knowledge of all types of cuisine and dishes, as well as the methods of preparation and serving, along with the tools used.

In the previous WorldSkills competition in 2022, Singapore won three golds, three silvers, two bronzes and 13 medallions. The Republic began taking part in the global contest in 1995.

Second Minister for Education Dr Maliki Osman, who went to Lyon, France to support the team, said he was "very happy" with Singapore's performance. Even though the level of difficulty in the competition had gone up several notches, the Singapore team was in high spirits, and exhibited tenacity and resilience, he said.

"There's so much growth in the preparation for the competition... while they came very prepared, many felt that they had a lot more to learn," said Dr Maliki.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.