As the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region promotes reindustrialization and seeks to strengthen its talent pipeline, the city's Construction Industry Council (CIC) is placing skilled craftsmanship at the heart of its strategy.

Nine young competitors from CIC will represent Hong Kong's construction sector at the 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai from Sept 22 to 27, aiming to showcase precision, resilience and cross-boundary collaboration on the global stage.

The biennial competition, dubbed the "Skills Olympics", will bring together more than 1,400 competitors under the age of 22 from over 70 countries and regions, competing across 64 skills. Since 1997, Hong Kong's construction industry has regularly participated in this global event, with the CIC winning a total of seven medals in previous competitions.

In this edition, the CIC's nine competitors will participate in eight trades — Bricklaying, Cabinetmaking, Concrete Construction Work, Painting and Decorating, Joinery, Plumbing and Heating, Wall and Floor Tiling, and Welding, with two competitors in Concrete Construction Work and one in each of the other seven categories.

The CIC has also selected six reserves for the competition and is training 11 students to ensure a sustainable talent pipeline.

For the CIC, the competition is not only an international stage for young craftsmen to showcase their abilities, but also part of its broader efforts to strengthen skills development and support the transformation and upgrade of Hong Kong's construction industry.

"Through this skills competition, we first want the society and young people to understand that acquiring professional skills can offer them a strong career path," said Ir Albert Cheng Ting-ning, executive director of the CIC.

"Second, we hope it helps build a skilled workforce for Hong Kong. Third, on a personal level, I hope it instills a positive outlook on life for our young people. Fourth, we aim to cultivate a cohort of outstanding craftsmen who can raise the overall standards of the construction industry."

Cheng noted that talent cultivation is essential for the high-quality and sustainable development of the industry. The CIC has developed teaching materials about bridges, tunnels and buildings that nearly 500 primary and secondary schools — about half Hong Kong's total — have signed up for, and which many of them have downloaded as teaching aids.

Cheng added that, under a "one examination, multiple certification" approach, skills qualifications obtained in one location can be recognized across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It not only establishes common skills benchmarks, but also elevates the professional skills standards across the three regions. The CIC also organizes visits to the Chinese mainland for Hong Kong's construction professionals to foster industry exchanges.

Such cross-boundary talent collaboration is fully demonstrated in the preparation for the upcoming 48th WorldSkills Competition, as two Hong Kong competitors are undergoing intensive training at Guangzhou Light Industry Technician College.

One of them is To Lung-wai, a graduate of the Hong Kong Institute of Construction — a member organization of the CIC — who will compete in the Cabinetmaking competition. Having previously studied mechanical maintenance, To shifted his focus to cabinetmaking after discovering his passion for transforming timber into practical and aesthetically pleasing pieces through craftsmanship.

Preparing for the competition requires a lot of patience and precision. To once attempted a complex dovetail joint more than a dozen times before achieving the accuracy required.

"I believe my strengths lie in my attention to detail, endurance and ability to stay focused during long hours of practice," To said. "At the same time, I have learned a lot from mainland counterparts, especially their efficient workflows and ability to combine modern design concepts with traditional woodworking techniques."

To's coach, Liu Zhiheng, a cabinetmaking teacher from Guangzhou Light Industry Technician College, said Hong Kong and mainland competitors bring distinct strengths to the competition.

"Hong Kong competitors tend to be more focused on precision and details, while mainland competitors are often stronger in efficiency and systematic training," Liu said. "By learning from each other, both sides can achieve better development."

The exchanges have allowed Hong Kong competitors to gain a better understanding of mainland training standards and competition requirements, he added.

Yu Kim-chau, the Hong Kong expert for the Cabinetmaking competition, said preparing To required combining different training approaches from Hong Kong and Guangzhou. As cabinetmaking in Hong Kong is generally incorporated into the broader interior renovation trade rather than a standalone specialty, To has to learn more specialized techniques through his training in Guangzhou.

"The Guangzhou coach focuses on the technical aspects of cabinetmaking, while my role is to help him understand these techniques from the perspective of Hong Kong's practices," Yu said. "We hope to bring the two approaches together and help him understand how to apply what he has learned."

Zhong Xiuping, secretary of the Party committee of Guangzhou Light Industry Technician College, emphasized the traits required for success at the highest level: "a craftsman's spirit of dedication and continuous improvement; resilience and the ability to perform under pressure; solid fundamentals paired with the toughness to keep learning."

Chinese mainland training systems, she noted, combine systematic data-driven analysis of competitors' progress against past gold-medal benchmarks and targeted obstacle training. Beyond technical ability, Zhong said psychological preparation is equally important, as competitors need to remain focused and perform under pressure during international competitions.

Through international competitions, early skills education and Greater Bay Area exchanges, the CIC is expanding development opportunities for young talent, promoting the free flow of skilled professionals, and playing an active role in reinforcing Hong Kong's dual role as a "superconnector" and "super value-adder" between the mainland and the world.

Chen Yanshan contributed to this story.