China will hold the third national skills competition in Zhengzhou, Henan province, in September, with some of the competition events being selection trials for the 48th WorldSkills in Shanghai in 2026.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the third national skills competition will open in Zhengzhou on the night of Sept 19, with the following three days — being competition days. The closing ceremony will be held on Sept 23.

The ministry said that the competition will stage 106 events, including drone operation, cloud computing and bakery, and medal winners of 66 events will be recommended as candidates for next year's 48th WorldSkills competition in Shanghai.

Chinese citizens aged above 16 years old — born before Jan 1, 2009 — can register for the national skills competition. They should be studying in a local school or have worked at local companies for at least one year. The ministry estimated that there are over 3,500 competitors, and 3,400 judges across the nation will join the competition, based on the early registrations.

China held the first national skills competition in Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong in 2020 and the second in Tianjin in 2023.