HK youths take on WorldSkill challenge
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     Ten local students are training intensely for an international competition to be held in Germany next month. They will don special uniforms and use top notch equipment to battle it out for medals. Though they are fighting fit, they are not athletes - but apprentices preparing to represent Hong Kong at the WorldSkills 2013 in Leipzig.

     Hailed as the "skill Olympics", the event is held every two years. It is open to competitors aged 22 or under who may only enter the competition once.

     Ms Christy Lam, 19, will compete in the visual merchandising/window dressing section, and Mr Tiu Chung-ho, 20, in the painting and decorating section. Both have been preparing themselves, mentally and physically, for the last six months, hoping to bring home the gold.

     In an interview with news.gov.hk, the competitors and their instructors share how they are rising to the challenge.

     The story appears today (June 23) on news.gov.hk in both text and video format.

Ends/Sunday, June 23, 2013
Issued at HKT 10:30

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