Women competitors from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions came under the spotlight at the just-concluded 48th WorldSkills Competition – billed as the “Skills Olympics” – in Shanghai with their gold medals and exemplary performances.

Tai Hsin-i – a 21-year-old tiler from Hong Kong – drew attention as the city’s first woman to compete in the wall-and-floor tiling event this year, and the only female entrant in the biennial contest, regarded as the world’s largest and most influential vocational skills duel.

Wong Weng-kei of Macao clinched gold in visual merchandising – the SAR’s second WorldSkills gold medal after its first in web design and development at the 44th competition in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, in 2017. Another Macao woman, Cloe Carvalho Hoo, secured the bronze in retail sales.

This year’s six-day competition, held from Sept 22 to 27, marked the first time the event was held on the Chinese mainland. It attracted nearly 1,400 young competitors from nearly 70 countries and regions, showing off their prowess in 64 vocational skills.

Tai was among 41 Hong Kong contestants in 37 events, while the Macao team took part in 22 events.

The HKSAR team clinched a record 15 awards, comprising 14 medals for excellence and silver in rail vehicle technology.  The Macao SAR also achieved an all-time best, bagging a gold medal in visual merchandising, silver in drone operation, a bronze in retail sales and 11 medallions for excellence.

Hong Kong’s performance came as the city seeks to expand its pool of skilled workers and elevate the standing and international recognition of its vocational and professional education and training.

Speaking at the contest’s closing ceremony on Sunday, HKSAR Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin said she was pleased to see the city’s team keep up its strong performance to achieve breakthroughs in several events.

She praised Hong Kong contestants for “giving their all on the international stage”, saying they had showcased “the talent and vigor” of the city’s young generation, while helping to promote vocational education and boost its recognition in society.

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To help competitors prepare for the event, Hong Kong’s Education Bureau gave additional support to the Vocational Training Council – the city’s largest provider of vocational and professional education and training – by broadening the search for competitors, taking trainees to training sessions and contests abroad, and bringing in former medalists to share their experience.

Tai, who was one of nine young representatives sent by the Construction Industry Council – a statutory body established to advance the sector’s professional development – took a year off from her advanced diploma in building services supervision at the Hong Kong Institute of Construction, and began full-time training in September last year to prepare for the Shanghai competition.

The wall-and-floor tiling event in which Tai participated is a core part of the construction and building technology category at WorldSkills. Its numerous, intricate procedures, strict precision requirements and physical demands have long made it a trade associated with men.

Individual competitors were given about 22 hours over four days to complete three modules without help. Their tasks included interpreting drawings, marking out, cutting tiles, mixing mortar, laying tiles and grouting to finish work on an area of nearly seven square meters with millimeter-level accuracy.

Tai drew crowds at the competition with her calm, meticulous tile work. Footage of her tiling quickly spread online, with many viewers cheering her on.

She said her father, who works in the plumbing-and-electrical trades, had encouraged her to enter the construction field. “People say it’s harder for women because the work is physical,” she said. “I thought I might be strong enough. I don’t mind getting dirty, so I wanted to give it a try.”

This year, Hong Kong’s Construction Industry Council sent nine competitors to eight events, including bricklaying and welding.

The council said it hoped Tai’s participation could inspire more women to join the construction industry and challenge the stereotype that such work was too strenuous and only suitable for men.

With work conditions improving and the growing use of remotely operated equipment, it’s expected that more women would consider joining the profession, it said.

Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com