East Java sends largest contingent to WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai
East Java province has contributed seven of the total 21 Indonesian contingents set to compete in the WorldSkills Competition (WSC) Shanghai, China 2026, making it the province with the highest number of representatives in the global vocational skills event.
“Good luck in your struggle and competition, my children. Show your best competence. Bring pride to your names, your parents’ names, and the name of East Java on the international stage,” said the Head of the East Java Education Office, Aries Agung Paewently, in Surabaya on Monday.
According to him, being the largest national contributor to WSC 2026 demonstrates the quality of vocational education in East Java, which has been developed through collaboration with the Business and Industrial World (DUDI).
“There are 21 contingents from Indonesia, seven of which are from East Java, making it the largest national contributor to the WSC. We want to determine the extent of the competence of vocational education graduates and the implementation of cooperation with DUDI in curriculum development. In this way, existing competency gaps can be identified and aligned with global standards,” he said.
The seven representatives from East Java strengthening the Indonesian contingent are Reno Surya Permana and Rouf Aufa Rifqi in Mechatronics, Edsel Parama Mustapa in Software Applications Development, Pandu Dewangga Reanata in Industrial Control, Muhammad Henry Akmal Muzakki in Robot Systems Integration, Dewangga Pratama Putra in Autobody Repair, and Tegar Eka Fitrianto in Heavy Vehicle Technology.
Aries noted that all participants have undergone a Training Centre (TC) alongside industry partners in preparation for WSC Shanghai 2026.
The training programme is set to begin in China in April 2026 and will be followed by sparring sessions in South Korea in July 2026, with durations adjusted according to each specific field of competence.
“Participants designated for the WSC contingent are undergoing TC with industry and sparring with several countries, such as South Korea and China. For fields also contested in the LKS (Student Skills Competition), participants are generally the first-place winners of the National LKS,” he added.
Aries mentioned that some Indonesian participants also possess experience competing in WorldSkills ASEAN and have successfully won gold medals, providing them with valuable preparation for the competition in Shanghai.
He expressed hope that the participants from East Java would be able to achieve great success while demonstrating the effectiveness of vocational education based on industry collaboration.