Russia and Belarus have been suspended from WorldSkills competitions and the EuroSkills 2023 event will no longer be held in St Petersburg following the invasion of Ukraine.
WorldSkills Europe board members this morning announced the decision to relocate next year’s event to an as yet unnamed other country following an emergency meeting.
At the same time, WorldSkills International announced that it has also cancelled WorldSkills Russia’s participation in WorldSkills Shanghai 2022. Belarus has also been kicked out due to its “active support” of Russia’s invasion.
Both countries have had their WorldSkills International memberships suspended with immediate effect.
In a statement, WorldSkills International said: “WorldSkills is politically and denominationally neutral. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is a clear and enormous breach of our code of ethics and conduct. Belarus, by its active support of Russia’s invasion, has also breached our code of ethics and conduct.
“The Russian government has made choices that forfeit its access to participate in events and activities organized by WorldSkills and its members.”
EuroSkills 2023 had been set to take place in St Petersburg from August 16 to 20, 2023.
WorldSkills Shangahi is currently scheduled to run from October 12 to 17, 2022.
WorldSkills UK chief executive, Neil Bentley-Gockmann, welcomed today’s “swift and decisive” actions.
“We have ceased all our bilateral work with WorldSkills Russia, including suspending our international partnership,” he added.
“We will continue to work with our peers across the rest of the world as we move towards supporting and delivering a successful WorldSkills Shanghai 2022 in October this year.”
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