During the ongoing 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, a young woman carefully laying tiles in the Wall and Floor Tiling s...
World
24 Sep 2026 • 2:31 PM MYT
During the ongoing 48th WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, a young woman carefully laying tiles in the Wall and Floor Tiling section caught the eyes of many.
Hsin I Tai, 21, from China’s Hong Kong team, is the only female among the 19 competitors in the floor tiling competition.
For Tai, laying tiles began with a two-day workshop. While studying for a higher diploma in building services supervision at the Hong Kong Institute of Construction, she joined a basic masonry workshop, where she met veteran tiling expert Lam Chi Chung, who introduced her to the #WorldSkills Competition.
She gave it a try and soon found herself hooked. In an interview with local media, Tai said what attracted her was not just the physical work, but the precision and creativity behind it.
Competitors must read technical drawings, calculate dimensions and angles, cut tiles to the millimeter, and assemble them into precise patterns. “You can create different designs with it,” she said. “It’s a bit artistic, and I found it interesting.”
That interest eventually led Tai to make a much bigger decision: she took a year off school to train full time for WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.
“I only have one chance in my lifetime to compete,” she said. “If I didn't try, I was afraid I would regret missing it.”
The inaugural WorldSkills competition, held in Madrid in 1950, featured just six disciplines — fitting, pattern making, turning, electrical installations, milling, and cabinetmaking — and 24 competitors, all male, from two countries.
In 1967, women first competed at a WorldSkills Competition in Madrid. Eight young women from European countries competed in Hairdressing, Engineering Drawing, Tailoring, and Sheet Metal Work, earning five medals.
Hsin I Tai, 21, from China’s Hong Kong team, is the only female among the 19 competitors in the floor tiling competition.
For Tai, laying tiles began with a two-day workshop. While studying for a higher diploma in building services supervision at the Hong Kong Institute of Construction, she joined a basic masonry workshop, where she met veteran tiling expert Lam Chi Chung, who introduced her to the #WorldSkills Competition.
She gave it a try and soon found herself hooked. In an interview with local media, Tai said what attracted her was not just the physical work, but the precision and creativity behind it.
Competitors must read technical drawings, calculate dimensions and angles, cut tiles to the millimeter, and assemble them into precise patterns. “You can create different designs with it,” she said. “It’s a bit artistic, and I found it interesting.”
That interest eventually led Tai to make a much bigger decision: she took a year off school to train full time for WorldSkills Shanghai 2026.
“I only have one chance in my lifetime to compete,” she said. “If I didn't try, I was afraid I would regret missing it.”
The inaugural WorldSkills competition, held in Madrid in 1950, featured just six disciplines — fitting, pattern making, turning, electrical installations, milling, and cabinetmaking — and 24 competitors, all male, from two countries.
In 1967, women first competed at a WorldSkills Competition in Madrid. Eight young women from European countries competed in Hairdressing, Engineering Drawing, Tailoring, and Sheet Metal Work, earning five medals.