Seven New Skills Reflect Industry's Next Chapter

As industrial innovation reshapes our world, the WorldSkills competitions reflect this industrial shift. This year's edition includes 64 contest projects, seven of which will be new to the competition. These seven new items are not just random competition duties. They reflect global industrial advancement. Every module and assessment criterion is derived from real-world job tasks.

1. Rail Vehicle Technology

Railways has moved massive volumes of passengers and freight across regions for nearly 200 years, making it essential to global transportation. Modern rail vehicles are much more sophisticated.

Railroad technicians perform train inspections, routine maintenance, equipment repairs, and on-site fault troubleshooting. These professionals work in teams and master many technical fields to keep railways safe, stable, and reliable. They specialize in high-voltage electrical systems, braking systems, air conditioning units, door operating mechanisms, and wheel assemblies, which are essential to modern trains.

China leads the world in the scale of urban rail transit, with its operational mileage surpassing 11,000 kilometers by the end of last year. Reflecting the country's industry prowess, Rail Vehicle Technology has been introduced as a new official event at this year's WorldSkills Competition, adopting the Chinese industry standards.

The competition encompasses practical, industry-oriented tasks, including pantograph inspection, door system commissioning, bogie maintenance and full-vehicle fault diagnosis. It comprehensively assesses contestants' hands-on capabilities in mechanical and electrical maintenance, as well as real-world problem-solving skills required for professional rail transit operations.

2. Unmanned Aerial Systems

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, represent one of the fastest-growing and most transformative technologies in the modern world, revolutionizing industries and public services across the globe.

Drones operate remotely, unlike traditional manned aviation, which requires on-site cockpit pilots. This unique advantage enables highly flexible, safe, and efficient execution of complex tasks, ranging from aerial mapping, infrastructure checks and precision farming to construction monitoring, fire rescue, wildlife protection and public security management.

UAS technicians are essential to ensuring the stable, safe and functional operation of drone equipment. The role demands multidisciplinary expertise spanning technology and operational practice. Professionals in this field design, assemble, test and maintain drone systems, applying specialized knowledge of aerodynamics, flight control and wireless communication systems, alongside skills in robotics, software programming and industry regulatory compliance.

The Unmanned Aerial Systems competition at the WorldSkills Competition fully replicates real industrial workflows to assess practitioners' core competencies. Contestants are required to complete a full spectrum of practical tasks, including drone assembly and troubleshooting, coding programming, machine vision-based autonomous flight operation, and 3D printing component fabrication.

3. Intelligent Security Technology

Modern communities depend on advanced security infrastructure to protect residents, property and public facilities from theft, trespassing, damage and other safety threats.

The global security industry has fully shifted toward digital and intelligent operations. By combining high-definition surveillance, AI image analysis, big data processing, smart sensor networks and automatic alert systems, today's security solutions create multi-layered protection. These intelligent systems can monitor situations in real time, analyze risks intelligently and respond rapidly to emergencies.

Intelligent security technicians are cross-disciplinary experts in this fast-transforming industry. They work on alarms, video surveillance, access control, intercoms, central monitoring platforms, and environmental sensors. Beyond building reliable security defenses, technicians customize solutions for different scenarios to ensure safety systems work without disrupting daily life and public operations.

The WorldSkills Intelligent Security Technology competition closely follows real industry workflows to evaluate contestants' all-round practical abilities. Competitors need to design targeted security solutions and install and debug surveillance, alarm, access control and smart fire protection equipment, as well as optimize system performance and fix technical faults.

They are also required to apply AI technology and integrate digital sensors into security systems. Meanwhile, the competition assesses contestants' professional standards, technical documentation skills and teamwork awareness, nurturing well-rounded technical talents that fit the practical needs of the modern security industry.

4. Software Testing

Software testing is a systematic, end-to-end quality assurance process that verifies whether software operates reliably, securely and efficiently before release. It aims to detect defects, validate functional compliance with design requirements, and assess overall usability, ensuring the final product delivers stable and high-quality user experiences.

Driven by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, big data and the Internet of Things, ICT software has been widely adopted across agriculture, transportation, healthcare, education, finance and many other sectors. In these critical fields, thorough software testing is essential to avoid system failures, financial losses and even life-threatening safety hazards.

The WorldSkills Software Testing competition replicates real-world industrial testing workflows. Contestants complete a full testing cycle, including analyzing testing requirements, designing professional test cases, executing systematic tests, and recording and analyzing detected faults. The competition evaluates not only contestants' ability to identify errors accurately, but also their comprehensive capacity for logical analysis, test design, problem judgment and standardized technical documentation.

As modern software systems grow increasingly complex, professionals must master both traditional testing methodologies and intelligent automation tools to improve testing efficiency and accuracy.

5. Digital Interactive Media Design

Digital interactive media design uses cutting-edge technology to create user-focused interactive content. Designers create immersive digital experiences for websites, mobile apps, smart device interfaces, and virtual and augmented reality environments using graphics, text, video, audio, and animation.

By bridging effective communication between brands and users, they refine overall user experience and create tangible commercial and social value for both organizations and audiences.

Professional interactive media designers require solid design aesthetics, user research competencies, trend sensitivity and strong teamwork skills. Collaborating closely with producers, marketers and product teams, they translate user demands and project objectives into visually appealing, fully functional and highly interactive digital solutions.

The WorldSkills Digital Interactive Media Design competition simulates complete industrial project workflows. Contestants independently deliver full-cycle digital media development tasks, covering requirement analysis, graphic and audiovisual production, and interactive function development.

6. Dental Prosthetics

With oral health increasingly recognized as fundamental to overall well-being and its strong links to chronic diseases such as cardiovascular conditions, the demand for skilled dental prosthetics technicians is rapidly growing.

Dental prosthetics technicians create and repair dental devices and instruments that restore oral function and appearance, working with dentists to improve patients' health and confidence.

They interpret specifications, perform precise measurements, and use advanced materials and digital tools to create prosthetics that restore chewing function, improve aesthetics, and enhance the patient's quality of life.

Dental prosthetics technicians combine specialist technical expertise with knowledge of human anatomy, materials science, and dental technology. They also need strong communication skills, practical ability, and adaptability to provide personalized restoration services while minimizing risk.

The global dental industry is rapidly going digital. 3D intraoral scanning, 3D printing and CAD/CAM technology have become core tools for modern dental restoration.

This new event closely mirrors such industry trends and marks the first time dental-technology skills have featured as an official WorldSkills competition. It is one of the few events raising the age limit for competitors from 22 to 25 years.

7. Retail Sales

Representing a vital part of the economy and one of the world's largest employment sectors, retail sales is a dynamic career that connects customers with the products they love. Whether in-store or online, retail salespeople shape the way we shop, interact, and experience brands.

Retail salespeople are the friendly, knowledgeable faces who help customers find what they need. They create engaging displays, manage stock, process payments, and use digital tools to support smooth, efficient service. Working as part of a team, they also promote sustainability and reduce waste, making shopping a positive experience for everyone.

As shopping habits evolve, retail professionals must be adaptable, tech-savvy, and customer-focused. This career builds valuable skills in communication, organization, and digital sales–opening doors to leadership and global opportunities.

The event covers full-channel offline and online business workflows. Contestants practice product sales, complaint handling, visual merchandising, digital operation, livestream marketing and business-solution design, testing comprehensive capabilities for new-era retail professionals.

WorldSkills translates industrial standards into competition standards, guides talent cultivation, and bridges young skilled talents to industry demands, opening pathways for career growth through skills. The 48th WorldSkills Competition will witness the power of young skilled talents and marches toward a promising industrial future.