WorldSkills 44^th International competition has been solemnly opened in Abu-Dhabi.The opening ceremony was attended by Georgian delegation which was composed of graduates of vocational colleges, teachers and consultants along with the representatives from around 80 countries. The Georgian delegation was led by the First Deputy Minister Ketevan Natriashvili and Director of National Centre for educational Quality Enhancement Tamar Sanikidze.

The WorldSkills competition is participated by 1300 representatives who has not reached the age of 22 from 77 countries. The graduates of our vocational colleges take part into the competition and represent our country and the level of vocational education in Georgia. They will compete their peers in 7 professions: cookery, confectionary, restaurant services, hairdressing, graphic design, information network wiring and Web design.

The international competition participants are the winners of National WorldSkills Georgia organized in Tbilisi. The competition was offered in the seven professions and the winners of that very competition (the first place holders in each profession) will participate in the world’s largest competition.

The team members and teachers of Worldskills Georgia completed a long-term preparation phase and a special training module prior to the international competition. Their professionalism was assessed with the highest scores by the Worldskills organizers. The competition has been held for 44^thconsecutive year and Georgia joined such an important international competition for the third time. The representatives of Georgia successfully participated into the competitions held in Germany and Brazil within the previous years.

WorldSkills Georgia represents a joint project of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement and a part of the government’s four point plan which is aimed to promote vocational education in Georgia, improve its quality, to approximate to international standards and gain internationalization. WorldSkills is an excellent platform for introduction and development of vocational skills.