The closing press conference of China's first nationwide Vocational Skills Competition was held on Monday in Guangzhou city, south China's Guangdong province. A total of 97 players won gold medals in 86 events in the competition.

At the Competition, Changzhou contestants won two gold medals in Manufacturing Team Challenge and Masonry Skills Challenge, ranking third in Jiangsu province. The Changzhou players also bagged two silver medals in Assembly Challenge and Concrete Construction Challenge, and two bronze medals in Industrial Design Challenge and Painting & Decorating Challenge, ranking first in Jiangsu in the total number of medals won.

In addition, Changzhou had a total of 12 projects and 15 contestants shortlisted for training for national team for the 46th WorldSkills Competition scheduled to be held in Shanghai in 2022.

Held from December 10-13, the four-day skills competition featured 2,557 contestants in 36 teams from across the country and 86 events covering 14 major industries, including manufacturing, information technology, transportation and architecture which represent 70 percent of China's industrial sector. It is currently the highest-level national professional skills competition in terms of eligibility requirements, number of events and enrollment of participants.

China vowed to boost vocational education quality in its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025). Modernized vocational education will play an increasingly larger role in boosting employment via re-skilling and up-skilling the labor force.