Namchi, Jan 23: Sikkim secured a total of seven medals at the Regional Qualifiers of the World Skills Competition held in Guwahati from January 19 to 22, 2026, officials of the State Institute of Capacity Building (SICB), Skill Development Department, Government of Sikkim, said.

The World Skills Competition is a biennial global event aimed at identifying and promoting skilled youth, with the national and regional competitions serving as qualifying platforms. Winners and first runners-up from the regional round advance to the national level.

Sikkim participated in four sectors Beauty Therapy, Cookery, Health Care, and Cloud Computing out of 26 sectors featured in the competition. A total of 503 candidates registered across these sectors following screening conducted at schools, colleges, and training institutes across the state.

State-level competitions were held in November 2025 at multiple locations under the Skill Development Department. The top two candidates from each sector were selected to represent Sikkim at the North East Regional Competition conducted at Guwahati University and Assam Downtown University.

According to officials, the medal winners at the regional level included three gold medals won by Pritam Kumar Bhagat (Cloud Computing), Saurav Gurung (Health and Social Care), and Abhijit Kirtunia (Web Designing). Hissey Bhutia won a silver medal in Health and Social Care, while Muskaan Lamichaney (Cloud Computing) and Sneha Gupta (Retail) secured bronze medals. Sushma Limboo received a Medallion for Excellence in Beauty Therapy.

The competition was organised by the National Skill Development Corporation under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India. Medal winners also received cash prizes of Rs 75,000, Rs 50,000, and Rs 25,000 for gold, silver, and bronze positions respectively.

Officials said the first two winners from each sector will participate in the National Skills Competition to be held in Noida in March 2026. Successful candidates from the national level will represent India at the World Skills International Competition scheduled to take place in Shanghai in September 2026.