At a training base for visual merchandising in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, 19-year-old Li Chuyin, under the instruction of her coach, meticulously arranged various products along a shop’s window display in preparation for the WorldSkills Competition scheduled for September in Shanghai.
After winning the national selection for the competition in September 2025, Li was chosen to represent China to compete in the visual merchandising category of the 48th WorldSkills Competition, acclaimed as the world’s most prestigious and largest vocational skills event.
This year’s competition will bring together more than 1,400 young competitors from over 70 countries and regions to compete in 64 skill categories.
Visual merchandising primarily focuses on the skills required for window displays. Based on available materials and tools on-site, this competition category involves creating designs and implementing them to complete a series of tasks such as product and prop displays.
“The competition requires skills in creating eye-catching visual displays for the windows and interiors of shops and department stores, designed to maximize allure for customers,” said Li.
Li began training in visual merchandising at the base, located at the Guangdong Technician College of Light Industry, three years ago.
The college has cultivated nearly 80 contestants for the national team since it became China’s training base for visual merchandising and beauty therapy categories for the WorldSkills Competition in 2016.
“I am looking forward to competing with top contestants from around the world and showcasing skills on the international stage,” she said.
At the 47th WorldSkills Competition in 2024, China achieved a historic milestone by securing its first gold in the visual merchandising competition.
Li is one of 17 competitors selected from Guangdong, a manufacturing and trade hub in South China, to represent the country at the 48th edition of the competition. An additional 15 competitors from Guangdong have been chosen as alternates for the national team.
Guangdong’s contestants and competition entries account for nearly one-quarter of the country’s total, highlighting the province’s level of skills training and education.
The categories Guangdong competitors will participate in include fine woodworking, refrigeration and air conditioning, CNC milling, CNC turning, electronics, CAD mechanical design, industrial design technology, robot system integration, network system administration, mobile application development, graphic design technology, jewelry processing, as well as visual merchandising.
Additionally, competitors from Guangdong will compete in the newly added categories of restaurant service and software testing and digital interactive media design.
At another training base, for CNC milling and CNC turning in the Guangdong Machinery Technician College, contestants worked hard to sharpen their skills ahead of the competition.
“The world-level competition has helped greatly promote training levels for future machinery technicians,” said Ye Junfeng, Party chief of the college.
China has emerged victorious in the CNC milling category five consecutive times, with all gold medalists hailing from the college located in Baiyun district of Guangzhou.
Most importantly, enhanced training at the college helps promote employment for students, according to Ye.
“We need to think more beyond the competition — it not only helps attract more young people to receive vocational training but also promotes employment,” said Ye.
At a job fair held at the college in May, more than 11,000 positions were provided by 312 companies for students who will graduate from the college, with each student given an average of nearly four options.
The companies are primarily from the manufacturing and advanced equipment manufacturing industries, with positions offered mainly in fields such as mechatronics and information technology, which are closely aligned with the college’s specialized programs.
qiuquanlin@chinadaily.com.cn