The first edition of the WorldSkills Fiber Optic Splicing Competition has begun

10 years after the introduction of the Fiber Optic Splicer profession into the Romanian Occupations Code by the Romanian Fiber Optic Association, the training of future fiber optic specialists is ensured within the 10 telecommunications high schools of the ECERT project – Experts and Centers of Excellence in Telecommunications.

  • More than 80 students participate in the WorldSkills Competition for Fiber Optic Splicers, a competition with exclusively practical tests based on industrial tasks, developed by AFOR specialists.
  • The local finals of the competition take place between February 8 and 22 in the 10 telecommunications high schools in the Telecommunications Experts and Centers of Excellence network.
  • The national final of the competition takes place in Cluj-Napoca, at the “Augustin Maior” Technical College of Communications, on May 21, 2024.
  • One of the Romanian students will represent Romania in September at the International Olympiad of Trades WorldSkills Lyon 2024, in the Information Network Cabling section.

In the current school year, 80 students who are training in the field of telecommunications have the opportunity to participate in the first WorldSkills Fiber Optic Splicing Competition. Between February 8-22, 2024, the local finals of the competition will take place, and the national final will take place in May.
The first local finals take place on February 8 in Bucharest and Baia Mare, at the Technical College of Posts and Telecommunications Gheorghe Airinei, respectively at the Technical College George Barițiu, with 14 (9+5) students competing, including 3 girls. The evaluation of the students’ performance is done in each city by a jury made up of 3 specialists from private companies, with experience in fiber optics.
The running of the local competition in Bucharest is supervised by Prof. Philippe Nicard, WorldSkills international expert in Information Network Cabling, who came specially from Bordeaux for this event. Prof. Nicard worked alongside WorldSkills Romania and the Romanian Fiber Optic Association in the competition preparations held in the last 8 months and ensures the application of WorldSkills international standards and methodology.
The local phase of this competition will continue until February 22nd in the other 8 cities, each high school will nominate a representative who will participate in the national phase of the competition, in Cluj-Napoca, on May 21st. Among the first 3 ranked in Cluj will be the Romanian representative who will participate in September in the WorldSkills Lyon 2024 International Trade Olympiad, Information Network Cabling section, along with other representatives from 16 countries. Romania is among the 3 European countries competing in this section, along with Norway and France.
The WorldSkills Fiber Optic Jumpers competition is officially recognized by the Ministry of Education through the Calendar of National School Competitions no. 24750 of 29.01.2024 and enjoys the support of ANISP – the National Association of Internet Service Providers in Romania, as a Silver Partner sponsor, but also the support of more than 14 companies.

About the WorldSkills Romania Foundation

The WorldSkills Romania Foundation supports professional performance among young people, for personal success and the development of Romania through:
• promoting excellence in the professional field;
• providing relevant learning experiences in various professional fields;
• facilitating collaboration between the various organizations involved in supporting the orientation, training, integration and professional development of young people, for a better correlation between the education system and the labor market.
The vision of WorldSkills Romania – every young person discovers and develops their professional potential, thus contributing to a better world.

WorldSkills programs and projects are implemented in Romania based on protocol no. 15310 of 25.10.2021, concluded between the Ministry of Education and the WorldSkills Romania Foundation.

About AFOR, the Romanian Fiber Optic Association

AFOR is a professional association whose members are fiber optic companies, operators, manufacturers of cables, accessories and equipment for fiber optic transmissions, designers, consultants, service providers, fiber optic infrastructure developers/operators, professors, university assistants and other specialists working in this field.
• Organizes courses for the fiber optic industry
• Coordinates the Fiber Optic Training in Europe workshop within the FTTH Council Europe and participates in the conferences organized by partners: Communications Day, ECAI, Interlan, ARSCM, AREL.
• He is a member of the technical commission CT 138 Optical fibers within ASRO and communicates permanently with ANCOM, MDRAP, MCSI.