Sessions
The Conference will take place over three days alongside WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.
- Early Bird rate ends: 30 April 2026
- Registration closes: 5 July 2026
Day 1
23 September 2026
10:00
Reception
Welcome coffee and check in
10:00 – 11:00
10:30
11:00
Opening ceremony and welcome speeches
11:30
Opening Plenary
Keynote speech
12:00
Opening Plenary
Innovation ecosystems for TVET: Building human-centred sustainable skills systems
Featuring senior Chinese and global leaders, the opening panel launches WorldSkills Conference 2026 with a forward-looking conversation on how international collaboration in education and training can power innovation, inclusion, and solutions to the world’s shared challenges.
12:30
13:00
Networking lunch
13:00 – 14:00
13:30
14:00
Showcase
Skills CoLab
An interactive marketplace where innovative skills development projects connect with peers from around the world to exchange knowledge and explore opportunities for collaboration.
Panel discussion
Industry as a partner: Public-private partnerships for better skills development
Showcasing successful public-private partnerships models and examples in TVET.
Panel discussion
Excellence for all: building more inclusive TVET systems
This session will examine how TVET systems can deliver excellence with equity, ensuring that high-quality skills development is accessible to all learners, particularly those facing structural disadvantage.
Panel discussion
Beyond borders: Advancing frameworks for skills recognition
This session will examine how skills recognition frameworks can support cross-border mobility, lifelong learning, and labour-market relevance.
14:30
15:00
Afternoon coffee break / snack
15:15 – 15:30
15:30
PISA-VET progress review and future plans: From framework to instrument development and implementation
Roundtable
Unlocking investment: innovative financing strategies for TVET
A roundtable exploring different financing mechanisms that mobilize resources, engage the private sector, and make training more responsive to industrial demand.
16:00
16:30
PISA-VET project meeting
16:30 – 17:30
17:00
Day 2
24 September 2026
08:30
Check in and arrival coffee
08:30 – 09:00
09:00
Opening Plenary
Keynote
09:30
Panel discussion
Beyond the hype: AI’s real impact on tomorrow’s workforce
Moving past buzzwords and speculation, this panel delivers concrete insights into how AI is transforming workforce development within innovation ecosystems.
10:00
10:30
Session break and mid-morning snack
10:30 – 11:00
11:00
Showcase
Skills CoLab
An interactive marketplace where innovative skills development projects connect with peers from around the world to exchange knowledge and explore opportunities for collaboration.
Showcase
Data-driven approaches to TVET development
A focused look at data-driven initiatives supporting evidence-based policy and practice in TVET and skills development, delivered in a flexible, short-format session.
Expert Input
AI, skills, and the future of TVET
How artificial intelligence is influencing skills, systems, and the future of TVET.
11:30
Skills assessment using AI
How AI could reshape how skills are assessed, recognised, and validated in TVET.
12:00
12:30
Networking Lunch
12:30 – 13:30
13:00
13:30
Shanghai Skills Development Forum
A thematic session on Shanghai’s vocational skills ecosystem, featuring expert roundtables, industry-education dialogue, and an award ceremony honouring outstanding skilled craftsmen.
Roundtable
Accelerating TVET/CTE Transformation: From Ideas to Action
A roundtable discussion by Salzburg Global.
Pitch
BeChangeMaker 2026 Pitch Finale
The top 5 finalist in our social entrepreneurship programme will deliver their final pitch.
Showcase
Africa’s skills landscape: current practice and future directions
How skills development is taking shape across Africa, drawing on successful experiences, approaches and partnerships.
14:00
14:30
Afternoon coffee break / snack
14:45 – 15:15
15:00
Competition Tour
Guided tour of WorldSkills Competition venue.
15:30
16:00
16:30
17:00
Day 3
25 September 2026
09:00
Check in
09:00 – 09:30
09:30
Panel discussion
High-level Keynote / Energizer
10:00
Panel discussion
WorldSkills Vision 2035
WorldSkills’ blueprint for the next decade, setting out a shared strategy to position the WorldSkills community to meet future challenges.
Workshop
Towards a Global TVET Agenda
A presentation of the multi-lateral initiative.
Panel discussion
TVET and the green transition: Building policy coherence around skill demand
Addressing policy fragmentation across education, labour, industry and environment sectors in green skills development.
10:30
11:00
Mid-morning break and snack
11:15 – 11:30
11:30
Closing Plenary
How to shape a skills-driven future in the post-2030 agenda
Global leaders come together in this closing panel to set a shared direction for a skills-driven future and the role of TVET beyond 2030.
12:00
12:30
Departure / lunch boxes
12:30 – 13:00
13:00
Transfers
13:00 – 13:30
13:30
Field Trips
Off-site industry or educational visits.
14:00
14:30
15:00
Transfers
15:00 – 16:00
15:30
16:00
WorldSkills Museum
Visit to WorldSkills Museum.
16:30
17:00
17:30
18:00
Reception
