Shanghai on 22 September kicked off the 48th WorldSkills Competition, the first time the event has taken place in China since 2010. More than 15,000 competitors, experts and delegates from 70 countries will pass through Shanghai’s airports this week, prompting the city to activate dedicated ‘WSK’ immigration counters and temporary visa-on-arrival desks for participants holding invitation letters. To cope with the influx, Pudong and Hongqiao airports have installed bilingual self-service kiosks that print local SIM-card redemption codes and metro-card vouchers. The municipal transport authority has also announced rolling road closures around the National Exhibition and Convention Center, with real-time updates pushed in English, French and Spanish via WeChat Mini-Programs. Event organisers say over 30 percent of attendees are corporate-sponsored apprentices from sectors such as aerospace, robotics and green building—underlining the growing link between vocational skills contests and talent mobility pipelines. Several multinationals, including Siemens and Huawei, are using the competition’s career fair to interview candidates on short-term business visas who can later be transitioned to China’s Foreigner’s Work Permit (Category B) once hired. For HR and travel teams, the main operational change is the temporary visa-on-arrival facility, which is open only until 30 September and limited to passport holders from countries with diplomatic relations with China. Companies should ensure invitation codes are printed and that entrants carry proof of health insurance, a prerequisite for badge collection. Shanghai officials hope the smooth arrival process will strengthen the city’s pitch to host other mega-events in the run-up to the 2030 World Expo bid. A post-event evaluation will feed into the city’s application to expand its 72-hour transit-visa exemption to 96 hours.
