Continuing Education Main Headline

IFT student wins WorldSkills medallion

IFT student Bili Chang at the WorldSkills Competition
中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

IFT student Bili Chang clinched a medallion of excellence in the latest WorldSkills Competition. He won the award for the skills he showed in the patisserie and confectionery contest.

Bili is taking the IFT programme leading to a bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts Management. He qualified for the finals of the WorldSkills Competition by winning the Macao heats in his skills category.

The international competition, held every 2 years, is the biggest vocational education and skills tournament in the world. The competition this year was the 45th. It was held from 22 to 27 August in Kazan, Russia.

More than 1,300 competitors representing 63 different parts of the world put 56 different sets of skills on show. Team Macao comprised 18 competitors, who showed off their mastery of 17 sets of skills.

The tournament is mainly for competitors aged 22 or below, but the age limit in some skills categories is 25. Gold, silver or bronze medals are awarded to the 3 highest-scoring contestants in each skills category. Competitors scoring 700 or more points out of a maximum of 800 are awarded medallions of excellence.

IFT served as the training centre for the Macao contestants in the bakery, restaurant service, patisserie and confectionery, and cooking contests. In collaboration with the Macao Labour Affairs Bureau, the coaching included intensive training outside the city.

IFT Lecturer Mr. Jeffrey Lao helped Bili prepare for the patisserie and confectionery contest. Bili visited Paris in France between 29 June and 7 July as part of his preparation.

Intensive training under the supervision of IFT Lecturer Mr. David Wiley helped Ms. Dawn Choi, a member of the staff of the Wynn Palace resort, to win a WorldSkills medallion of excellence for her baking skills.

Mr. Wiley and Ms. Choi stayed in Paris between 16 and 28 June for intensive training. As part of her preparation for the WorldSkills Competition, Ms. Choi entered the first Belt and Road International Skills Competition, held in the Mainland Chinese city of Chongqing in May. Mr. Wiley accompanied her.

Neville Choi, who is studying Culinary Arts Management at IFT, also competed in the WorldSkills tournament, He entered the cooking contest, having been trained by IFT Lecturer Ms. Marieta Wong. They visited Paris between 1 and 13 July for intensive training. Neville also entered the Belt and Road International Skills Competition with Ms. Wong accompanying him.

IFT Regent for Restaurant and Bar Courses Mr. Miguel Oliveira helped Ms. Kate Lei prepare for the restaurant service contest of the WorldSkills Competition. Ms. Lei works at the Wynn Palace resort. In May she entered the restaurant service contest of the Belt and Road International Skills Competition and won a medallion of excellence. Mr. Oliveira and Ms. Lei stayed in Rome in Italy from 15 to 23 June for intensive training for the WorldSkills Competition.

The Team Macao reserves for the bakery, restaurant service, patisserie and confectionery, and cooking contests were all IFT students. They won their places in the squad by coming second in their respective heats. The reserves received the same training as the first-choice contestants, so they could substitute for first-choice contestants unable to compete for any reason.

The next WorldSkills Competition will be held in Shanghai in Mainland China in 2021.

President’s Corner

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