The regional skills challenge, initiated by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in the Negros Island Region (NIR), opened Monday to provide a venue for competitors to land better jobs by showcasing their talents in various categories.

The WorldSkills Philippines NIR 2026 runs until Wednesday in this Negros Oriental capital with at least 75 participants from across the region.

There are 17 skills areas in the competition that are organized under five sectors: social and personal services (baking, cooking, restaurant service); construction and building technology (cabinet making, carpentry, electrical installation, wall and floor tiling); information and communications technology (cybersecurity, ICT network infrastructure, web technologies); creative arts and fashion (fashion technology, floristry, graphic design technology); and manufacturing and engineering technology (electronics, welding, autonomous mobile robotics, mechatronics).

The competitions are held at the Negros Oriental Convention Center, Team Skills Technological Institute and Freedom Park grounds, specifically for those needing open space like welding and carpentry.

TESDA Negros Oriental chief Fletcher Gumahad said winners will represent NIR at the national level in August. If lucky, they will move up to the World Skills Olympics.

“This is the first regional skills Olympics in the recently created NIR and provides a venue for our scholars and graduates of technical and vocational courses to showcase their world-class skills,” Gumahad said in an interview.

Meanwhile, TESDA is also offering services during the event, such as assessment, enrollment, driving simulation and demonstrations of products or different outputs of TESDA scholars. (PNA)