The WorldSkills Competition: A Cradle for Manufacturing and An Engine of Innovation for Helping Solve Societal Issues

50 Years of Working with the Philosophy of "Manufacturing Starts with People"

The WorldSkills Competition began in 1950 when a Spanish vocational youth group held a competition with the neighboring country of Portugal. In Japan, the event has been held every year since 1962, and it is the highest stage for young technicians to compete with their skills.

Hitachi High-Tech has participated in the national WorldSkills Competition since 1968, when the company was known as the Naka plant of Hitachi, Ltd., and has participated in the international WorldSkills Competition since 1973. Over the course of more than 50 years, Hitachi High-Tech has won more than 100 gold, silver, and bronze medals at the national and international competitions.

Toyokazu Ishikawa, Senior Technician of the Technical Training Group, Naka Manufacturing Div., Manufacturing & Technology Business Group (hereinafter, "Naka Corporate Manufacturing Business Group"), considers the main reasons for Hitachi High-Tech participating in the WorldSkills Competition to be nurturing young technicians and passing on skills, and lists three objectives:

• Challenging the best in Japan and the wider world so participants can experience a wide range of skills at the highest level
• Developing future technicians and mentors who are not only technically skilled, but also have good personal skills
• Bringing experience from the WorldSkills Competition back to the workplace to raise skill levels

"It's often said that "manufacturing starts with people," but Hitachi High-Tech believes that taking part in the WorldSkills Competition becomes a cradle for manufacturing. I believe that we can gain a lot from the experience of going outside the company and working hard at places where top-level technicians gather. Hitachi High-Tech has continued to take on these challenges over 50 years." says Ishikawa.

A Silver Medal at the International Competition in France, and Putting the Emphasis on Gratitude

In September 2024, at the 47th Annual International Conference on the WorldSkills Competition in Lyon, France, Daimu Tazawa of the Machinery Section, Manufacturing Dept, Naka Manufacturing Business Group, won a silver medal in CNC Turning.

CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) Turning is a competition in which material is rotated by a machine (a lathe), and machined by cutting or adding grooves into complexly shaped parts. Unlike a normal lathe, the position and speed of the cutting blade are controlled by a computer.

The competition consists of three days with four hours of competition per day, creating and processing programs based on drawings, and competing in accuracy and completion. The competition assignments and material types are not revealed until the day of the competition. The three challenges in this assignment for September 2024 were the machining of low carbon steel, the mass production of five products in tool steel (steel used in blades and various tools), and an assembly of brass and tool steel.

Looking back on the competition, Tazawa said

"I was very confident in the actual event because I had undertaken very difficult tasks in my training for the competition. Before entering the competition, I had a consistent routine of stretching my fingers and taking a deep breath, so I didn't get distracted during the competition."

Participants must be 22 years old or under to take part in the WorldSkills Competition (23 years old or under for domestic competitions), and those who want to participate are assigned to the Technical Training Group to concentrate on training for two to three years. In the case of Tazawa, he decided to participate in the WorldSkills Competition during his high school years, and immediately began training after joining Hitachi High-Tech.

Ryuta Sakai of the Machinery Section, Manufacturing Dept, Naka Manufacturing Business Group, who trained Tazawa for three years as a mentor, says

"In the guidance I gave, I focused on not just technical aspects, but also human skills that befit a medalist. In particular, that gratitude is key. Not everyone can participate in the WorldSkills Competition, and I hope that people will first be grateful for being in an environment that enabled them to set foot on that stage, and that they will share their experiences with their juniors after they have finished competing."

Sakai was also a CNC Turning competitor and won a Medallion for Excellence in the 43rd International Competition (Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2015). "We have now returned to the manufacturing site and are working on processing using a turning center. We want to improve our skills so that we can meet even higher demands without wasting the experience we have gained from the competition."

Taking on Challenges Raises Hitachi High-Tech’s Technical and Organizational Capabilities

Hitachi High-Tech's products and services are supported by the ceaseless development of cutting-edge technologies and the high levels of skill required to give those technologies form, and what makes this happen is people. In other words, the acquisition of advanced skills by each of our individual technicians leads to the technological and organizational capabilities of Hitachi High-Tech leveling up as a whole.

At present, Hitachi High-Tech participates in four categories in the WorldSkills Competition: Manual Turning, Manual Milling, Mechatronics and Mechanical Drawing & Design. All of these technologies are essential for the design and manufacture of electron microscopes and various analysis and measurement systems, which are each major businesses for Hitachi-High-Tech, and enable more difficult manufacturing.

As mentioned at the beginning of this piece, Hitachi High-Tech believes that the purpose of taking part in the WorldSkills Competition is to nurture young technicians and pass on skills. The young competitors who actually participated in the competition have developed their skills dramatically, and are now in a position to take on leading their respective manufacturing sites.

Akitomo Ebine of the Machinery Section, Manufacturing Dept, Naka Corporate Manufacturing Business Group, participated in two national competitions (2004/05) and one international competition (2007). Currently, he is in charge of machining Hitachi High-Tech products as a technical expert, and said, looking back on his experience at the WorldSkills Competition, that

"I was able to improve my skills, but above all, I developed a strong sense of responsibility. In practice, when a problem arises, it is important to chase down the cause of the problem and to solve it, whatever it is. I also learned the importance of team strength, so I was more motivated to work on improving skills and knowledge not only in my job but also in the workplace as a whole."

Tatsuya Numahata of the Technical Training Group, Naka Corporate Manufacturing Business Group also participated in two national competitions (2017 and 2018) and one international competition (2019), and then took charge of designing medical products and transferring production overseas. Like Ebine, he says that his experience at the WorldSkills Competition made him grow significantly.

"I learned how not to give up for anything, the feeling of being second to none, and how to be autonomous. I feel that through the WorldSkills Competition, I have cultivated a sense of strict punctuality in which I have to finish my work within the time limit, along with an attitude that is indispensable for my work, in which I will take my own opinion and work to solve problems when they arise."

Numabata competed in Mechanical Drawing & Design at the 62nd National Competition in Aichi Prefecture in 2024. At the competition, Hitachi High-Tech won a silver medal in Mechatronics and a Medallion for Excellence in Manual Milling. At the 44th National Abilympics, which was held at the same time, employees of Hitachi High-Tech Support, a Group company, won a silver medal in Data Processing, and continue to strive for excellence in their performances.

Developing a Mindset for Tackling Challenging Issues with Limited Time and Resources

Hitachi High-Tech Group has formulated five materialities (key topics) for solving social issues, based on SDGs (sustainable development goals).

In line with our philosophy of "manufacturing starts with people," taking part in the WorldSkills Competition will contribute to materiality 5, "Developing and utilizing diverse human resources," and indirectly contribute to materiality 1 through 4.

Currently, we are facing unprecedented global challenges, such as climate change and biodiversity loss, that demand solutions. From the perspective of developing human resources who can help tackle these challenges through their manufacturing skills, taking part in the WorldSkills Competition is becoming increasingly important.

In recent years, there has been a trend toward being conscious of sustainability efforts like energy conservation and resource conservation, with approaches such as reducing the amount of electricity consumed and reducing the weight of tools brought in at the WorldSkills Competition.

Ishikawa from the Naka Corporate Manufacturing Business Group, who spoke at the beginning of this piece about the purpose of taking part in the WorldSkills Competition, came to the following conclusion:

"When solving social issues, there are often time and resource limitations at play. Hitachi High-Tech focuses on maximizing results by conducting training within limited working hours. We believe that developing this attitude on a regular basis will also leads us to having the capabilities to solve difficult issues."

2030, the target year of the SDGs, is approaching, and the global community has set a goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions (net zero) by 2050. In order to make progress in solving issues within a limited time frame and with a sense of urgency, we need to innovate. The skills and mindset developed in the WorldSkills Competition will be the cradle that yields these innovations.