WorldSkills Calgary bids a fond farewell

It took four years to plan, one week to run and now it’s over except for the final reporting.

WorldSkills Calgary 2009 was, in the words of WorldSkills International President Jack Dusseldorp, the “best Competition ever”. 848 Competitors and thousands of delegates from around the world descended on Calgary, Alberta, Canada for one magical week in September. During their time here, they toured the world-renowned Canadian Rockies and Banff National Park, they cheered as they proudly crossed the Grandstand stage at the Opening Ceremony, they competed in four days of intense competition, they laughed and danced at the City of Calgary WorldSkills Cultural Celebration at Olympic Plaza, they enjoyed superb weather throughout and they shed a tear and saluted their new-found friends at the emotional Closing Ceremony and Farewell Party. All in all, it was truly an event to remember.

WorldSkills Calgary 2009 leaves a proud legacy on many fronts:

• More than 50,000 school students travelled from across the province to attend the event to see first-hand what career options are available in the skills, trades and technology sectors. They also test-drove various skills at the Try-A-Skill tent.
• More than 55 Calgary schools participated in the One School One Country program, where elementary schools adopted a team and learned about the culture of their country prior to meeting their team’s Competitors at their school prior to competition.
• The Government of Alberta sponsored an $14 million equipment legacy program which saw brand new equipment from the Competition distributed amongst high school and post secondary institutions around the province. Everything from computers and diamond-bladed water saws to ice cream makers and compact injection molding machines is finding its way into the hands of Alberta learners to replace obsolete equipment and support apprenticeship and other training programs across the province.
• WorldSkills TV gave us an unprecedented opportunity to expand our media reach by webcasting 139 video vignettes shot over six days. With more than 318,000 downloads, this format proved a tremendous success and helped WorldSkills move the message beyond the event and onto desktops around the world.

Now that WorldSkills Calgary 2009 is in the history books, competitors and organizers look ahead to the excitement of WorldSkills London 2011 when the UK will play host to the 41st WorldSkills Competition. In the meantime, Skills/Competences Canada and other WSI Member countries around the world will continue to foster the skills movement and encourage young people to pursue lucrative careers in skills, trades and technologies. So as we pass the torch to our friends in London, we bid you a fond farewell from Calgary. Thanks for the wonderful memories and for contributing to the “best ever” WorldSkills competition. See you in London!

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