TAGUIG CITY -- The Philippine delegation bagged a silver medal and three Medallions for Excellence in the recently concluded 13th WorldSkills ASEAN Competition held at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Center in Singapore.
Competitor Ana Claire Hernandez brought home a silver medal in the Graphic Design Technology skill area, finishing second behind Joanne Li of Singapore. Hernandez also received the Best of Nation Award having garnered the highest number of points among Philippine competitors.
Ana shared that all of her hard work came to fruition after she won the silver medal. She advised all Filipino youth, particularly aspiring graphic designers to continue working hard to be better.
“Sa susunod na competitors and other TESDA trainees, ang masasabi ko lang ‘wag kayong matakot, ‘wag kayong malungkot, [at] wag kayong panghinaan ng loob na sa una pangit yung gawa niyo….[kasi] the more you do, the more you get good,” she said.
Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Secretary Suharto T. Mangudadatu lauded the winners and the rest of the Philippine delegation including the experts for bringing pride to the country after their successful finish in the ASEAN WorldSkills Competition.
“I would like to congratulate everyone from the Philippine delegation, for the dedication and hard work you displayed from the start of your training until the end of the competition,” Secretary Mangudadatu said.
“You have shown the world that Filipino excellence in the tech-voc field knows no limits, and our skilled professionals are indeed world-class,” he added.
Meanwhile, aside from the silver medal, the Philippine team also brought home three Medallions for Excellence. These were awarded to Gwyneth Nicole Abarquez of Restaurant Service, Cristian Lasaruz Asanza of Electrical Installation, and Allen Gacweng of Cooking.
The Medallion for Excellence is granted to competitors whose performance meet the international standards based on the criteria set by the WorldSkills International.
The Philippines participated in various skill areas such as Automobile Technology, Beauty Therapy, Cooking, Electrical Installation, Electronics, Fashion Technology, Graphic Design Technology, Hairdressing, Information Network Cabling, Internet-of-Things, IT Network System Administration, IT Software Solutions for Business, Mechanical Engineering CAD, Mechatronics, Mobile Robotics, Rapid Transit System, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, Restaurant Service, and Web Technology.
The biennial WorldSkills ASEAN Competition gathers youth from around Southeast Asia to showcase their talents and abilities in various skill categories. It aims to promote and upgrade skills standards in the ASEAN region to an international level, as well as to motivate youths to develop their skills to meet international standards.
The last time that the country medaled at the prestigious international skills competition was in 2018, when Philippine competitors brought home 1 silver medal in Visual Graphic Technology, and 2 bronzes in Refrigeration & Air Conditioning and Hairdressing.
The 13th WorldSkills ASEAN Competition was originally set for July 2020 but was rescheduled to July 18-28, 2023 due to the pandemic. (TESDA)
