MOSCOW, July 24 (RIA – Novosti) – Hosting WorldSkills competition in Russia will increase the social status of blue-collar workers in the country, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday.
“I am certain that hosting such a championship in Russia is a good opportunity to draw attention to a wide range of professions. If we are lucky and the decision will be made in favor of our country, we will do everything necessary to hold the event at the highest level,” Medvedev said.
Russian prime minister added that the stereotypes about low social status of working class professions in Russia has to be changed.
Medvedev recalled that Russia hosted national skills competition for the youth and intends to bid as a host country for WorldSkills Competition in 2019.
WorldSkills International is a non-profit organization created in 1946 to increase the level of professional training and raise the standards of manual labor qualifications worldwide.
The organization holds the skills competitions in different member countries every two years. Competitors aged 18 to 25 demonstrate their skills in a wide range of professions including car painting, hairdressing, cooking, welding, bricklaying and carpentry among others.
Russia joined the WorldSkills movement two years ago and intends to submit a bid to host the 2019 championship in Moscow.
