Malaysia has achieved its best medal result in its WorldSkills history, which began with the country’s first participation in 1995. Ahmad, head of Malaysia’s delegation, told Bernama after the closing ceremony of WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 that the team had placed among the world’s top 10 in 11 of the skills contested.
Official results put Malaysia fourth in Rail Vehicle Technology, fifth in Electronics and Bakery, and sixth in Digital Construction and 3D Digital Game Art. Ahmad said 14 of 21 participants earned medals. The report separately says the Malaysian contingent comprised 22 participants competing across 21 skills.
The result marked a substantial improvement on WorldSkills 2024 in Lyon, France, where Malaysia won one bronze medal and four Medallions for Excellence. Ahmad said the performance reflected stronger results from Malaysian competitors under 22, including scores above 700 out of 1,000, the threshold for an international Medallion for Excellence.
For WorldSkills 2028 in Aichi, Japan, Malaysia aims to compete in at least 32 of the 64 skills and pursue the country’s first WorldSkills gold medal. Ahmad said sustained participation in national, ASEAN and Asian competitions has helped raise standards in technical and vocational education and training, or TVET. Malaysia won the overall title at WorldSkills ASEAN Manila 2025 with 13 gold medals, then finished third in Asia at WorldSkills Asia Taipei 2025 with five golds.
Ahmad credited cooperation among agencies under the National TVET Council, including the human resources, public works and rural development ministries. He said nearly 500,000 students are enrolled across 1,398 training institutions nationwide and that TVET is increasingly recognised as a primary career route. WorldSkills Shanghai ran from September 22 to 27, bringing together about 1,400 skilled young people from 65 countries and territories to compete in 64 skills.