In February 2024, the first national championship of blue-collar professions WorldSkills Kyrgyzstan ended in Kyrgyzstan. The event took place at the Vocational Lyceum No. 4.
WorldSkills International was created in 1947 in Spain during the post-war reconstruction period, when there was a shortage of qualified specialists in the international labor market. The main purpose of the first championships was related to increasing the prestige of blue-collar professions. Today, WorldSkills International is a significant tool for training specialists taking into account world standards and the needs of modern high-tech production. Over its half-century history of international development, WorldSkills has attracted more than 80 countries. Kyrgyzstan joined the movement in 2023 and became the 86th member of WorldSkills.
Joining WorldSkills is part of the country's strategy to raise the profile of technical and vocational education, particularly at primary and secondary levels. Today, the main industries of Kyrgyzstan are the production of machinery, electronic components and light industry products, as well as the food industry.
The first championship was organized by the public foundation "CASEF" together with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Kyrgyz Republic with the support of AIKO-SEIKO, ESAB and the department for implementing the sector development program "Skills for Inclusive Growth", financed by the Asian Development Bank.
One of the competitive areas of the championship was “Welding Technologies”, in which the best students of vocational schools in the region took part.
Young specialists demonstrated their skills in various types of welding: manual arc, automatic, TIG welding and electrode welding. All posts were equipped with welding machines from the international manufacturer ESAB. The competitors had at their disposal ESAB Rebel™ EMP 320ic multi-process industrial welding machines and single-phase AC and DC argon welding machines with high-frequency arc ignition (HF TIG) and manual arc welding (MMA) mode with Caddy® Tig 2200i coated piece electrodes AC/DC. To determine the winners of the competition, AIKO-SEIKO provided X-ray assessment of the weld seam and organized the transportation of plates for quality control.
The winner of the welding championship was Eldar Bakirov, and the prize-winners were Maxim Khodunov and Ilya Gerasimenko. Ilya emphasized that working with high-tech welding machines and materials from ESAB was a real discovery for him. He experienced all the benefits of advanced welding technologies, which helped him confidently cope with competitive tasks and take a step towards professional growth.
Maxim admitted that it was not without difficulties, but he managed to go through all the tests, coping with his anxiety and confirming his abilities in welding.
The winner of the championship, Eldar Bakirov, will continue to compete in the WorldSkills 2024 finals in France, which will be held in Lyon from September 10 to 15, 2024.
All participants noted that they see their professional future in the world of welding technologies, strive to improve and achieve new heights in their skills. The winner and runners-up are confident that welding is a calling, a special path that they intend to follow ambitiously.
“The ESAB company has been acting as an ambassador of the WorldSkills movement in the countries of the Central Asian region for several years. As a global manufacturer of welding consumables, welding and cutting equipment, accessories and personal protective equipment, we strive to ensure that young professionals are trained on modern equipment. This is the key to the technological evolution of the industrial sector, since welding is at the heart of many processes. All participants showed a high level of preparation and deserved first place. The National Championship in Kyrgyzstan is an important contribution to the future of the country’s economy and production potential, and we plan to support similar events in the future,” said Ekaterina Tatarinova, ESAB Sales Director for Central Asia.
