WorldSkills 2026: Uganda’s three-member team starts competition
The competition, which started on September 22 and will run until September 27, is being held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (NECC), the world’s largest exhibition venue. It is the first time China is hosting a global skills stage.
Elizabeth Mirabel Mutoro, a welder from Arua Technical Institute, is one of the representatives of Uganda at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, China. (Photos by Ali Twaha)
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The 48th WorldSkills Competition, the world’s largest vocational skills contest, officially kicked off in Shanghai, China, with team assessments beginning on Wednesday, September 23, 2026.
The competition, which started on September 22 and will run until September 27, is being held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (NECC), the world’s largest exhibition venue. It is the first time China is hosting a global skills stage.
According to organisers, more than 1,400 young skilled professionals from over 70 countries and regions have gathered in Shanghai to compete across 64 skills.
Uganda is among the African countries taking part. Team Uganda comprises three competitors: Elizabeth Mirabel Mutoro, a welder from Arua Technical Institute, Paul Terran Lugobe, a chef from Hotel and Tourism Training College Jinja, and Flavia Nakaayi, a nursing competitor from Kabale Institute of Comprehensive Nursing.
"I will do my very best in this contest. It's also a learning opportunity for me because we have a lot of professionals here. The technology being used in welding is also evolving," Mutoro told New Vision on the sidelines of the event.
Jackson Kuucha, WorldSkills Uganda director, said the team led by Minister of State for Primary Education Phyllis Chemutai is a delegation of about 30 people, including senior officials responsible for TVET, competitors, and heads of several TVET institutions.
Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, officially opened the event. The global event has been organised by WorldSkills International in partnership with China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
What is WorldSkills all about?
WorldSkills International was founded in Madrid, Spain, in 1950, in the aftermath of the Second World War, when much of Europe faced a severe shortage of trained tradespeople. What began as a competition between Spain and Portugal grew into a global movement.
The organisation, known until 2000 as the International Vocational Training Organisation, now has about 90 member countries. Its reach covers nearly two-thirds of the world’s population, according to WorldSkills International.
Every two years, the organisation stages the WorldSkills Competition, in which young people under about 24 years are tested against a written international standard in their trade, not against each other in the way a sports match works. Shanghai 2026 is the 48th edition
Uganda is not a full member of WorldSkills International. It joined as an associate member, which caps its entries at three skills, one reason the country is sending only three competitors to an event with 64 categories. Only China, the host, and Brazil are entering all 64 skills.