Veteran millwrighting professor visits Shanghai to prepare for upcoming WorldSkills competition

Magna School for the Skilled Trades faculty member Craig Brazil will once again serve as competition manager for Industrial Mechanics (IM) at this year's WorldSkills Competition Sept. 22-27 in Shanghai.

Brazil, who has overseen IM competitions on multiple continents — including at Sheridan's Magna Skilled Trades Centre in 2022 — since leading the charge for the event to be added to WorldSkills in 2015, recently returned from a week-long visit to China to prepare for this year's WorldSkills competition.

In addition to attending numerous planning meetings with fellow competition managers, workshop managers, skill advisors, event sponsors and global partners, Brazil was also able to tour the WorldSkills Museum that opened in November 2023. The museum includes a pedal-powered water purification system (pictured in header photo) that was built by Sheridan students and faculty, then used as a test project for the IM competition at WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017.

“Seeing the water bike on display at the museum and thinking about all of the people who were involved in bringing this project to fruition on a world stage was truly amazing,” Brazil said.

WorldSkills Shanghai 2026 will take place in the world's largest event centre — the National Exhibition and Convention Centre (NECC) Shanghai — and is expected to attract 1,400 competitors from 70 countries and regions across 64 skills competitions.

Learn why Industrial Mechanics are considered the doctors of industry