WorldSkills International officially announced on Tuesday the postponement of WorldSkills Shanghai 2021 by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

WorldSkills International said in a news release that it has communicated and collaborated closely with its members, competition organizers, partners, and stakeholders throughout 2020, and has recently hosted a series of meetings with all stakeholders to transparently and collaboratively consider all possible scenarios around risk management and risk mitigation.

"This decision was made today based on facts, educated and informed forecasts, lessons learned from other events and organizations, and strategic perspectives built around what is best for all stakeholders," it said.

The organization said it "believes an early and clear decision is best for all stakeholders."

"It provides a much higher degree of certainty for everyone that then allows planning, managing, and recalibrating the next 12 to 24 months (and the future beyond that)," said the organization.

It said the the actual rescheduled date for the 46th competition in Shanghai has not not yet been finalized but is expected to be between October to November 2022. It said the 2022 event will feature over 1,400 competitors from more than 60 countries and regions, competing in over 60 skills.

This decision means that all future events will also be moved by one year so WorldSkills Lyon 2023 will move to 2024, according to WorldSkills International.

“Our competitors represent the skilled talent that has been essential in the global response to the pandemic, demonstrating without a doubt that skills change lives,” said Chris Humphries, president and chair of the board of WorldSkills International.

“We are grateful for the support of both WorldSkills China and WorldSkills France and their organizing teams who have worked closely with WorldSkills International to reach what we all believe is the best solution to preserve the integrity and spirit of the Competition.”

WorldSkills Members local and national competitions were put on hold throughout 2020, delaying the selection and training of teams to participate in WorldSkills Shanghai 2021, said the organization.

it added that its member countries and regions around the world have already begun planning and hosting alternative competitions and online training programs to continue the work of encouraging young people to take up vocational education and training.

“We believe more than ever that skills and young people will lead us down the road to global economic recovery and prosperity,” said David Hoey, CEO of WorldSkills International. “Alongside our members and global partners, we will use the next 12 months to continue connecting with young people through a series of exciting and innovative programmes that will embrace a year of innovation and inspire more young people to take up skills.”