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On a recent visit to Japan a discussion between Mr Dusseldorp and Mr Ishikawa was transcribed for inclusion in to the 27th Issue of My Shizuoka a community newsletter distributed to all residents of the Shizuoka Prefecture.
Below is an extract from the article published in My Shizuoka.
Talk with Governor
Global Communication through Skills and Dreams - International Skills Festival for All, Japan 2007
(Preface)
For the first time in history, the 39th WorldSkills Competition and the 7th International Abilympics will be simultaneously held as International Skills Festival for All, Japan 2007 in Shizuoka. Although Japan has been proud of its skills in goods-making, it is now challenged with some issues, such as aging of skilled people, decreasing interests of the youth in skills, and less regards toward skills, especially when conveying the skills to younger generation. Therefore, the Festival in such time will be particularly significant as it allows people to realize the importance of skills. Jack Dusseldorp, president of WS, meets with Governor Ishikawa to share the ideas and expectations towards the Festival in 2007.
(Dialogue)
(Gov) This is your 2nd visit to Shizuoka, after the first visit in May, 2004. Have you found anything new about Shizuoka?
(JD) It was only to say hello to many people the first time but this time, I am able to gather useful information and to deepen our understanding of the excellent preparation procedure. There’s one thing that hasn’t changed though. I haven’t seen Mt. Fuji!
(Gov) They say that Mt. Fuji is another figure of Goddess, a wife of God that created Japan and that she feels shy and disappears when she sees a handsome man like you. But I think you will be able to meet her when the Festival is held in 2007. By the way, is there anything new in the Festival 2007 in Shizuoka?
(JD) In the past WorldSkills focused primarily on skills in manufacturing, building and the crafts but the recent trend is an increase of competition categories related to IT and services. For example, beauticians participated for the first time this year in Helsinki which was very appealing to many people. Also, our young competitors used to be shy in the past but now they are very sociable and the media is happy about it as it’s the young peoples’ stories which help to explain the importance of skills. So we are thinking of holding a youth forum, inviting the past medalists to the Festival of Shizuoka to talk about the importance of skills in public, as well as a forum for vocational training leaders to discuss the big issues. I would like to deepen the relationship with Shizuoka to realize these additional events in 2007.
(Gov) I share the same idea. More people will be interested when there are various events along with the competition itself. Have there been any changes with the competition or the judging criteria?
(JD) The tradition of WorldSkills has been individual competitors within a particular category working alone to perform set tasks, but with modern technology there is a requirement for more teamwork in the workplace and so we have new competitions like, MTC (Manufacturing Team Challenge), where young skilled workers work together to come up with a solution to a particular problem, and this has been regarded highly by the young people and spectators alike. When I visited Numazu, a venue of the Festival in 2007, I asked the Mayor what some of the problems are in his community for which the young skill champions may be able to develop suitable solutions. His answer was somewhat related to the 2007 Issue* and he said “With the aging of the community there were concerns about improving emergency services for older people in a time of disaster like an earthquake”. He then asked me if it is possible to develop devices or a system for older people to help move them more quickly and safely. Also, if there is a good idea to reinforce old houses, that are easy and inexpensive and I told him, “There are young skilled workers who can suggest wonderful ideas” How about offering a Governor’s Award for ideas that can solve actual problems in the
Festival 2007?
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