The awards ceremony for the winners and runners-up in the qualifiers for the WorldSkills Russia National Competition finals was held at the IV Global Fishery Forum and International Exhibition of Fish Industry, Seafood and Technology (Seafood Expo Russia). The young winners were congratulated by Ilya Shestakov, head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries.

In 2020, on the initiative of the Federal Agency for Fisheries, fisheries specialties were added to the list of competencies of the Professional Skills Development Agency (WorldSkills Russia), with the following competencies being established: ‘Coastal Fishing’, ‘Raising Fish Seed and Marketable Fish’ and ‘Processing of Aquatic Biological Resources’.

The Federal Agency for Fisheries head said this was the first time young specialists had taken part in the industry-specific competition and that they had demonstrated a high standard of training, professionalism, perseverance and leadership.

From October 2020 to February 2021, regional stages of the competition were held in Kaliningrad, Moscow, Astrakhan, St Petersburg, Kamchatka and Primorsky Territory. In total, more than 150 participants from industry-related educational institutions took part in the competitions, demonstrating their skills in deck work, trawl modelling, fish processing, smoking, filleting, preserving and canning; fish farming processes, hydrochemical analyses, fry feeding and fish roe collection.

The winners of the finals were:

• Ilya Turov, student at the Far Eastern Nautical School, in the category ‘Coastal Fishing’;

• Artyom Gurovsky, student at Vladivostok Marine Fisheries College, in the category ‘Raising Fish Seed and Marketable Fish’;

• Natalia Ogorodnikova, student at the Volga-Caspian Marine Fishery College, in the category ‘Processing of Aquatic Biological Resources’.

In Coastal Fishing, the second prize was taken by Dmitry Nikiforov, a cadet from St Petersburg Marine Fisheries College (branch) of Kaliningrad State Technical University, and bronze went to Ilya Prisekaryan from the Far Eastern Nautical School (Dalrybvtuz). The students were unable to attend the awards ceremony in person as they are away at sea practising.

Yaroslav Zlenko, a cadet from the Volga-Caspian Marine Fisheries College of Astrakhan State Technical University, won silver in the category ‘Raising Fish Seed and Marketable Fish’, and Nikita Syrovatko from Kamchatka State Technical University took third place.

In the category ‘Processing of Aquatic Biological Resources’, second place went to Nikita Popvasev, a cadet from Kaliningrad Marine Fisheries College (Kaliningrad State Technical University), and third place was taken by Ekaterina Sorina from Yamal Polar Agroeconomic College, which is not part of the Federal Agency for Fisheries’ educational system, which highlights the project's importance beyond the bounds of the industry’s government agency.

The head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries praised the contribution made by the teachers and experts who had been involved in developing the standards and training contestants.

“Our priority is to develop education in the fisheries sector and train highly qualified specialists in line with modern standards and cutting-edge trends. Russia is implementing a large-scale programme to upgrade its fleet and production facilities. Demand for professionals is growing and the industry is ready to offer them better working conditions and decent wages”, Ilya Shestakov commented.

For information:

The Young Professionals Championship (WorldSkills Russia) is held annually as part of the Education national project among students of secondary vocational education institutions aged 16 to 22 and juniors (including schoolchildren), as well as among WorldSkills Juniors competitors aged 16 and under.

The winners of the regional stages in all categories will have to go through qualifying rounds enabling experts to select the participants for the Final of the IX WorldSkills Russia National Competition.