Hong Kong builders take three WorldSkills honours in best CIC haul
Nine young competitors represented Hong Kong across eight construction trades in Shanghai, with concrete construction work earning its first honour and welding its third in succession
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.
asserted
content → take → partner
Nine young construction competitors from the Construction Industry Council returned from WorldSkills Shanghai with three Medallions for Excellence, the strongest finish the CIC has recorded at the competition.
asserted
CIC → return → competition
The honours went to Law Chak-sum in painting and decorating, Tse Yu-lok in welding, and the concrete construction work team of Huang To-kong and Wan Tsz-ho.
asserted
honours → go → kong
It was Hong Kong’s first WorldSkills honour in concrete construction work, while welding delivered a third successive Medallion for Excellence for CIC.
asserted
welding → deliver → CIC
Construction companies should give skilled tradespeople clearer positions on their grade charts, allowing a young welder, joiner or other craftsperson to see a path towards supervisory and leadership roles without assuming that a university degree is the only way forward, he said.
asserted
he → give → roles
The four-day concrete competition provided perhaps the squad’s most dramatic turnaround.
asserted
competition → provide → turnaround
Huang and Wan said they had been among the fastest competitors over the first two days.
asserted
they → say → days
But one of the pair became unwell on the second day, forcing them to discuss tactics with their expert before the next session.
asserted
one → become → session
Then, on the third afternoon, their concrete pour failed.
asserted
pour → fail → afternoon
Wet concrete spilled across the slab.
asserted
concrete → spill → slab
“The whole floor was concrete,” one of the pair said.
asserted
one → say → pair
“We wanted to cry.
asserted
We → want → ?
We did not pack it in.”
asserted
We → pack → it
They rebuilt the work layer by layer and recovered sufficiently to record the highest mark in the steel-fixing section.
asserted
They → rebuild → section
They finished fourth overall and secured a Medallion for Excellence, about 13 points behind first place.
asserted
They → finish → place
Their expert, James Li, had previously described the pair as having contrasting temperaments, with trust between them becoming particularly important during the competition.
asserted
trust → describe → competition
The concrete module also demanded skills across several areas.
asserted
module → demand → areas
Cheng said competitors had to work with aluminium, steel and timber formwork as well as steel fixing and concrete pouring.
asserted
competitors → say → formwork
Tse’s welding competition produced another CIC honour.
asserted
competition → produce → honour
Unlike most members of the squad, he joined from paid welding work rather than as a Hong Kong Institute of Construction student.
asserted
he → join → student
Before Shanghai, Tse had identified pipework and X-ray inspection as areas where marks could be lost.
uncertain
marks → identify → areas
He said afterwards that all three of his X-ray inspections exceeded the standard he had set himself.
asserted
he → say → standard
Cheng said Tse also performed well in both X-ray and pressure testing.
asserted
Tse → say → testing
Official results put Tse on 716 points, placing him 11th on the same score as another competitor.
asserted
results → put → competitor
The gold medallist scored 735.
asserted
medallist → score → 735
Tse said he hoped to return to the Institute to pass on what he had learned, while also gaining experience on construction sites.
asserted
he → say → sites
The CIC has now won welding honours at three successive WorldSkills competitions, in 2022, 2024 and 2026.
asserted
CIC → win → 2022
Law completed the trio of Medallion winners in painting and decorating.
asserted
Law → complete → painting
He said the four-day competition had presented difficulties along the way, but he had worked through them and intended to continue in the trade.
asserted
he → say → trade
Other competitors said their performances had surpassed what they had achieved in training.
asserted
they → say → training
Huang Tsz-ho, who had paused a social-science degree to train, represented Hong Kong in joinery.
asserted
who → pause → joinery
He said he found a wood course online and that some practice days ran to more than ten hours.
asserted
days → say → hours
The squad later trained with partner institutes in Beijing, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Chongqing and Shanghai.
asserted
squad → train → Beijing
Some training days ran from early morning until 10pm or 11pm.
asserted
days → run → pm
The CIC also uses each WorldSkills cycle to study overseas techniques, equipment and standards and feed relevant lessons back into HKIC training.
asserted
CIC → use → training
Competitors who want to enter the industry will be helped to find work, while further training is available in areas including BIM and robot operation.
asserted
training → want → BIM
Cheng added that the two years of preparation had also changed the nine competitors, who returned from Shanghai speaking more readily and with greater confidence than when they were selected.
asserted
they → add → confidence
The 49th WorldSkills Competition will be held in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, in November 2028.
asserted
Competition → hold → November
The Aporia
