The final of the Professional Skills Championship «Professionals» will be held in St. Petersburg from November 26 to November 30. Schoolchildren and students of professional educational institutions from all over Russia and other countries will compete for victory in the competition. The winners of the regional qualifying stages reached the final: schoolchildren and students of vocational education institutions from all 89 regions of Russia. Among them are contestants from Mariupol, Lugansk, Kherson and Donetsk People’s Republics.

17 friendly foreign countries also confirmed their participation in the Championship: Egypt, Syria, Colombia, Morocco, the Philippines, Kenya, Ghana, Armenia, Tanzania, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, South Ossetia, and Bangladesh. The participation of foreign delegations will strengthen international cooperation for the exchange of best practices in the field of education and technology transfer.

This year’s competition program will become even more ambitious and spectacular. The main category will include 55 professional competencies. Another 20 competencies will be presented in the «Juniors» category, where school students will demonstrate their skills.

The specialties of the Championship represent the most significant and sought-after sectors of the economy: from construction, transport and shipbuilding to 3D modeling, programming and repair of unmanned aerial vehicles. The number of competencies has almost doubled compared to last year. The competition program includes such areas as cooking and restaurant service, hotel business and fashion technology.

The winners of the Championship will receive prizes, the amount of which was previously approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. The winners will receive a reward of RUB 300 thousand. The winners of the second place will receive a prize of RUB 200 thousand, the third – RUB 100 thousand.

The best contestants will have a unique opportunity to try their hand at leading Russian enterprises. Among them are the state corporations Roscosmos and Rosatom, the leaders of the St. Petersburg industry: Power Machines – ZTL JSC, LMZ and Electrosila. Severstal PJSC will offer three-month internship programs at the Cherepovets Metallurgical Combine to the winners of the competencies «Laboratory chemical analysis», «Welding technologies», «Electrical installation», «Production of metal structures» and «Industrial Automation». The best turners and milling workers will receive an internship at the DM Technologies LLC plant in Ulyanovsk. The winners of the competencies «Repair and maintenance of passenger cars», «Body repair» and «Car painting» will hone their skills at the service stations of Lecar Service, LADA, Renault and Nissan from Lada-Image JSC.

In addition to the main competition venue at the EXPOFORUM Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Championship events will be held at professional educational institutions in St. Petersburg, the city’s rescue training center and Pulkovo Airport. An important part of the Finale will be a large-scale business program: scientific and educational conferences, sessions, round tables, discussions and master classes from leading experts, government corporations and regional delegations.

The dialogue between youth and the real sector of the Russian economy will be expanded within the framework of the joint business event with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs «The All-Russian Championship Movement as a driver of the transformation of the professional training system at the request of enterprises».

«Advanced industry and the development of entrepreneurship are one of the ten priorities for the development of St. Petersburg in the coming years. Strengthening ties between education and business will provide the Russian economy with qualified personnel and strengthen its position at the global level. We are implementing pre-vocational training programs, and our leading companies are ready to hire participants of the Professionals championship for internships. This competition is a unique platform for the exchange of experience between young professionals, educators, representatives of industry and economics. St. Petersburg is pleased to once again host the Professionals Final and will do everything possible to hold it at the highest level», said Aleksandr Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg.

The championship will be a true celebration of excellence and will open up new perspectives for each participant. Residents and guests of St. Petersburg are invited to become a part of this landmark event and support talented young people.