1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 1 Bronze! SVHC Achieves Outstanding Results at the 2024 World Vocational College Skills Competition

Recently, the finals of the 2024 World Vocational College Skills Competition were held across various tracks. Representing Jiangsu Province, SVHC’s faculty and students participated in four events across three tracks, achieving remarkable results of 1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze. The number of gold medals and total medals secured the top position among similar institutions in the province. Among the achievements, the "Rehabilitation Therapy Technology" team won a gold medal with the highest overall score in their debut appearance, while the "Inspection and Quarantine Technology" and "Pharmaceutical Production" teams secured silver medals, and the "Dental Technology and Restoration" team earned a bronze medal.

To enhance the comprehensive educational function of vocational college skills competitions, improve event management, and establish an international brand for vocational education, the former "National Vocational College Skills Competition" was upgraded to the "World Vocational College Skills Competition" in 2024. Compared to the previous national competition, the new "World Competition" introduced significant adjustments to the rules. The competition features a three-tier system: school-level preliminaries, provincial-level semifinals, and the finals, which are divided into the “qualifying rounds”, “ranking rounds”, and the”championship finals”. Standardized competition questions were eliminated, and the scoring rules were comprehensively updated. Teams across 42 tracks are now evaluated based on five aspects: skill level, professionalism, application value, teamwork, and innovation. The competition requires participants to focus on the practical needs and requirements of production, management, and service front-line positions, emphasizing skill innovation. Teams are expected to independently determine their competition projects, design their content, and select their equipment, fully reflecting the goals of comprehensive education.

Upon receiving the competition notice, our college leadership attached great importance to the event, holding multiple special meetings to plan and organize the participation meticulously. College leaders frequently visited the preparation sites to understand the training progress and encourage the participating faculty and students. The Teaching Affairs Office actively coordinated with the higher-level competition office and relevant provincial colleges, recalling some former provincial competition winners who had already advanced to undergraduate institutions to return for intensive training. They also organized observation, discussion, and exchange among the participating teams, researching and deploying the competition work. Relevant functional departments fulfilled their respective responsibilities, providing comprehensive support in terms of policies, materials, and personnel, ensuring excellent training conditions for all participating teams. Leaders from relevant schools guided the teams in in-depth study of the competition rules, team formation, developing competition plans, designing competition projects, repeatedly refining scripts, and simulation training. Through collective efforts and close collaboration, the teams made full use of the short 20-day preparation period to actively prepare for the competition.

The new World Vocational College Skills Competition requires each event to be a team competition with no more than four members, emphasizing reasonable division of labor and collaboration. Teams must simultaneously perform skill operations and on-site explanations. The competition evaluates the participating teams based on their proficiency, standardization, and operational level in their respective professional skills, while also placing high demands on their comprehensive ability to solve complex problems. The competition highlights integration of industry and education and integration of science and education, with clear requirements for innovative and creative project designs tailored to professions and positions. Our gold-winning "Rehabilitation Therapy Technology" team, adhering to the requirements of the rehabilitation therapy profession, focused on inheritance and innovation. With the theme "Straight Spine, Healthy Body and Mind—Exercise Rehabilitation and Management of Scoliosis," the team overcame unfavorable factors in the draw, relying on solid professional skills, outstanding teamwork, and excellent psychological resilience, completed the competition at a high level, leaving a deep impression on the judges and ultimately securing the gold medal with the highest overall score. Under the guidance of their instructors and event experts, other teams diligently practiced and closely collaborated according to the new competition rules and scoring criteria. Upholding the college spirit of "respecting people and professionalism, striving for excellence and sincerity", they overcame challenges such as short preparation times and significant rule adjustments, demonstrating the excellent professional skills, high competitive level, and spirit of perseverance of our faculty and students at the World Vocational College Skills Competition.

The World Vocational College Skills Competition provides a platform for faculty and students to showcase their skills, learn from each other, and improve together. It also serves as a test of our college's talent cultivation level and quality. Taking the new "World Competition" as an opportunity, Suzhou Vocational Health College will summarize experience, analyze shortcomings, and continuously improve skills. SVHC will regularly host college-level skills competitions and establish a three-tier vocational skills competition system comprising the finals, provincial competitions, and college competitions. By adhering to the integration of "post, course, competition, and certification", we aim to comprehensively enhance students' vocational skill levels and cultivate more high-quality healthcare talents with innovative spirit and practical abilities, contributing to the construction of "high-level and high-quality institutions" reaching new heights.