At 17, Luo Liping was working on an assembly line in an electronics factory. Four years later, she stood on the WorldSkills podium and secured the best result ever achieved by an Asian competitor in Visual Merchandising.
After finishing high school in 2015, Luo turned down a college offer because of financial difficulties and took a job in Guangzhou. Repeating the same task every day, she began to wonder whether this was all her future held.
Everything changed when she learned that students from rural families could attend a vocational college tuition-free. She returned to school in 2016, where her dormitory soon became a second training room. Encouraged by her roommates, she joined the WorldSkills training program in Visual Merchandising.
The competition demanded creativity, precision, and endurance. After four days and 21 hours of competition at the 45th WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Luo won Silver, setting a new best result for Asia in the event.
Although she later received attractive job offers, Luo chose to become a WorldSkills coach instead.
"Your size never determines the impact you can make," she said. Today, she hopes her own experience will encourage more young people to discover new opportunities through skills.
Reporter: Xie Maishi
Source: Human Resources and Social Security Department of Guangdong Province
