Members of the WorldSkills Singapore Council
WorldSkills Singapore Officials and Participants
Ladies and Gentlemen
A very good afternoon to all of you. I am honoured to be here with you at the closing ceremony of the WorldSkills Singapore 2025.
2. Over the course of the competition, you have displayed diligence, determination, and devotion to skills mastery and excellence. I want to congratulate all of you for being on this important journey, just one of the many aspects of your lives. Let us give all the participants a round of applause for all their hard work over the last couple of days!
Worldskills Singapore Participants – Passion, Resilience, and Commitment to Skills Mastery
3. WorldSkills Singapore is a national skills competition to showcase and celebrate skills mastery by youths from our Institutes of Higher Learning. This year, more than 260 youths competed across 26 skills areas, which is more than twice the number of participants and skills areas than the last WorldSkills Competition in 2023.
4. I am glad to see our youths honing their skills and spurring one another on through this competition.
5. To all our participants, may you continue to uphold the same passion and commitment to lifelong learning and skills mastery. Possessing the right values and soft qualities such as curiosity to learn more, determination to overcome barriers in learning, innovation to do things differently and excellence to always create value in your work will put you in good stead for success. These enduring qualities will encourage you to continually hone your craft and skills to stay relevant in an age of rapid disruptions.
6. This is even more critical given the uncertain global economic outlook. You would have heard over the last couple of days about the decision by US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on many countries around the world. Many analysts worry that this will lead to a global trade war which will impact Singapore and our competitiveness. A skilled labour force will be one of the critical assets that will help us maintain our competitive edge. Therefore, beyond today, you must be prepared to deepen your skills in your current field of study and acquire news skills that will value add to your overall skills portfolio.
Industry partners – Supporting Skills Development; Recognising and Celebrating Skills Mastery
7. As we celebrate what our participants have achieved, let us also take this opportunity to thank our industry partners who have contributed to the success of WorldSkills Singapore.
- This year, more than 70 industry partners across various sectors, including international and local companies have supported the event.
- Lending their knowledge and expertise, they have generously coached our participants, set challenges for them, and developed assessment frameworks.
- Today, we will be giving out the Distinguished Service Award to five industry experts from Microsoft Singapore, Hewlett Packard Incorporation, Design Engineering 82 Pte Ltd, and the National University of Singapore to recognise their significant contributions to supporting the participants for the WorldSkills competition.
8. This WorldSkills partnership between industry and our IHLs is one of many examples of how we continue to strengthen the industry as part of our SkillsFuture training ecosystem. Through such partnerships, our institutions and students can gain a deeper understanding of the various sectors' needs and the real-world industry problems, making learning come to life. Companies, on the other hand, could benefit from the institutions' applied research knowledge and also engage and mentor top students in their cohorts, who constitute a key talent pipeline for the industry.
Conclusion
9. In conclusion, I wish the participants all the best in your pursuit of skills mastery and lifelong learning.
10. Some of you will represent Singapore at the WorldSkills ASEAN Competition in Manila, Philippines later this year and some will branch out to represent us in WorldSkills that will happen in China next year. Do your best and fly Singapore's flag high in the Phillippines first and subsequently in China. So, may you also benefit from the cultural exchange with participants from our neighbouring countries and forge new friendships.
Thank you so much and congratulations once again.