Eleven of the 14 representatives of the Azores secured medals at the National Championship of the Professions that took place in Santarem during the past week. 

The youngsters from the Region secured four gold medals, five silver medals and two bronze medals in a competition that gathered around 170 professionals with ages between 17 and 21 years old. The participants came from vocational training centres, professional schools, companies or applied independently. All were selected in regional contests. 

The new Azorean national champions are: gold medalists, Carlos Vidinha, Carpentry; André Rodrigues, Electricity; Luis Martins, IT Network Management; and Wilson Silva, Hotel Reception and Tourism.  

Silver medalists, Emanuel Figueiredo, Accounting and Management; Bruno Drumonde, Cooking; Carla Garcia, Hygiene and Work Security; Ana Reis, Web Design; and Cristiano Pamplona, Civil Construction Design (CAD). 

The four gold medalists will join the "national team" that will represent Portugal in the 40th WorldSkills  competition, which will take place in Canada, in the month of September.