At the final day of the 47th WorldSkills Competition in the French city of Lyon, the race for medals heated up, with participants from roughly 70 nations showing their mettle.
Formerly known as the International Vocational Training Organization, WorldSkills is an international charity, which organizes national championships for vocational skills. Every two years, the organization hosts a competition, attracting competitors from around the world.
This year's competition ran from Wednesday to Saturday, with the closing ceremony on Sunday. The event brought together approximately 1,400 participants from nearly 70 countries and regions to compete in 59 skill categories spanning vocations ranging from artwork to welding.
China sent 68 participants to participated in 59 different disciplines.
Teams say it is a collaborative environment, but winning gold can help make their professional career's sparkle.
"I think it's for their career, for the whole of their life. And then they can join this field and they can have a very good start of their journey, their life," said Zou Ningxin, a jewelry expert of Team China.
Medals may be up for the grabs but the goal of the biannual Workskills Expo is also for crowds here to draw inspiration.
This event is designed to give people a little taste of different parts of the working world and what ingredients are needed to be successful in a chosen career.
The expo also gives delegations the opportunity to learn from one another.
"They're able to come here and see how they match up against other countries. It's a benchmarking system as well as an individual assessment of the competitors who are representing their nation," said Shawna Bourke, director of Marketing and Communications of the WorldSkills International.
This biannual event is seen as an opportunity to try and address shared problems like water pollution.
"Urban water sewage treatment and industrial water reuse are the fundamental ways to solve this problem. So water technology is very important today," said Wang Zhan, water technology expert of Team China.
Several days of tough competition culminates in a medal ceremony. And the hope is that these competitors will inspire a new generation of skilled workers to come out of the woodwork.
Shanghai is scheduled to play host to the competition's 48th edition in September 2026.
Race for medals heats up on last day of 47th WorldSkills Competition
The Israeli military on Tuesday ordered residents of about 80 towns and villages in southern Lebanon to evacuate, triggering a mass exodus along the Tyre-Sidon highway as intensified air strikes drove tens of thousands from their homes.
Vehicles stood bumper to bumper for kilometers, with pickup trucks stacked high with mattresses, blankets and plastic bags inching north as horns blared in restless bursts. The exodus reflected a widening wave of displacement as Israeli strikes pounded border villages.
"I came from the village of Al-Qusaybah. We left at dawn yesterday. We heard the first sound of bombing and left. We came to Al-Zarariya and stayed with people until morning. There were reconnaissance planes above us, then Al-Zarariya was bombed, so we came here. It took us more than 12 hours to reach Sidon. We arrived in Sidon at 00:30. We slept in the car with our young children. In the morning, we searched among the schools and found this one, but there was no room. I asked them, 'Should I stay on the street with my young children? Let this be a temporary place until we find another place. We waited, they registered our names, and welcomed us. May God bless them," said Haidar Haidar, a displaced Lebanese, who founded a school, which serves as a temporary shelter for homeless people in Sidon.
"I come from Jwaya, in the district of Tyre. The problems we have suffered in relation to displacement are heartbreaking, in every sense of the word. Children are sleeping in the streets, the elderly are sick, and the economic situation is dire. The state is aware of this, even without us talking about it. There is economic and commercial exploitation that people cannot bear, and we as a people have not healed from the first wound before the second wound opened. I demand that our prime minister say that we are under the protection of the state and under the protection of the Lebanese authorities, who have not cared about their people or any citizen until now," said Zeinab, another displaced Lebanese.
Wafa Shuayb, Public Relations Officer at Disaster Management Office of Sidon, warned that shelters have reached capacity, with 19 centers already housing more than 7,000 displaced people and no space to open new ones.
"Today, we have approximately 19 centers and no space to open new ones. We have more than 7,000 displaced people in the centers, and we need everything, from basic items such as mattresses, blankets, and hygiene kits to anything that can help people get on with their lives at this stage. We appeal to everyone: those who can provide daily meals from local associations, mattresses and blankets, bathroom maintenance, anything. We need everything at this stage to support everyone, and we appeal to anyone who can help us so that we can continue," she said.
Lebanese disaster management authorities reported Tuesday that 58,064 people have been displaced nationwide amid escalating hostilities with Israel, including 12,539 families. The surge in displacement reflects intensifying air strikes and cross-border fire, which have driven mounting casualties and placed growing strain on emergency response systems.
Thousands flee southern Lebanon as Israel orders evacuations amid escalating strikes
