Skills Competitions for Promoting Vocational Excellence

Abstract

Over the last decade, skills competitions in vocational education and training (VET) have increased in popularity and visibility. The most well-known global event is the biennial WorldSkills Competition (WSC), which is organized by WorldSkills International (WSI) and involves competitors from 77 member countries covering 50 skill areas (e.g., plumbing, hair dressing, robotics). Academic research on international vocational skills competitions provide an excellent opportunity to investigate the micro- and meso-level factors related to vocational excellence. This chapter focuses on the role of skills competitions in promoting vocational excellence, introducing relevant research, and discussing the seminal findings on individual vocational development and the attractiveness of VET.