Salesian students win gold medals at the WorldSkills Chile 2020 Vocational Training Olympics

(MissionNewswire) Students from the Salesian Educational Center in Talca, Chile, participated in the fourth edition of the WorldSkills Chile 2020 Vocational Training Olympics, held online in November. They each received a gold medal in their respective competitions. The recognition will open new doors for them professionally.

Sebastian Palma, who was a part of the industrial control competition, said, “It was a week of hard work, struggling with anxiety, stress and fatigue, but when the closing ceremony arrived, I could only think of one thing: I want that medal!”

Maverick Silva and Nicolás Méndez were victorious in the mechatronics competition. For Silva, it was a dream come true. He recalled, “Last year, I had to write a newspaper article for a class. My headline was ‘Student of the Salesian Educational Center of Talca wins WorldSkills 2020.’ I never imagined it would actually come true. It was very rewarding.”

Méndez said it was a great learning experience. He noted, “I think the competition has helped us improve and develop our skills as electrical technicians and learn at advanced levels of mechatronics.”

Professors Lucas Olave and Patricio Cáceres also commented on the successes and acknowledged that the competition is fierce, with participants coming from other countries and high-level challenges, in which it was not possible to improvise. This year was also difficult because it was done remotely.

Sebastián González Cassone, a student at the Salesian Institute in Alameda, won the gold medal in the computer networks category, thanks to a model developed with Professor Raúl Vásquez.

“Winning the first prize in my specialty filled me with joy,” said Cassone. “Everything I learned during the third and fourth years paid off and was acknowledged. WorldSkills is a great opportunity to test everything one learns and it helped me feel more confident.”

According to the World Bank, Chile has a fairly low poverty rate of 14.4 percent. However, Chile struggles with high rates of income and education inequality. Salesian missionaries working in Chile focus their efforts on providing education and social services to poor and at-risk youth. At Salesian schools, universities and youth centers throughout the country, youth can access an education as well as the skills and resources necessary to break the cycle of poverty.

As a result of the vocational and technical education provided by Salesian programs, Chilean youth are more likely to find stable employment and improve their standard of living.

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Sources:

ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS) 

ANS – Chile – Several success stories of Salesian education: Gold Medal students at “WorldSkills Chile 2020”

Salesian Missions – Chile

World Bank – Chile