The Vice-President of the Government conveyed today his "great satisfaction" with the good results achieved by two young Azorean participants at the WorldSkills, where they won the Medal of Excellence in their areas of expertise.

Sérgio Ávila, who congratulated participants, teachers and the Azores School of New Technologies, stated that “the results achieved in Brazil cannot be dissociated from the important investment the Regional Government has made in vocational training over the years. The Azores have won a total of 94 gold, silver and bronze medals and medals of excellence since 2004.

"We believe the improvement of employability among the Azorean population requires an increasingly higher level of skills. Our commitment to the investment in training, at all levels, has been quite clear. This is especially visible in the area of vocational training, where we have maintained a significant investment over the years," added the government official.

The Vice-President of the Government stressed that the Azores are "the region of the country with the best ratio between the number of participants and the number of medals won in national and international skills championships.

"The level achieved in vocational training in the Azores strengthens our certainty that we are on the right track," said Sérgio Ávila.

The two young Azorean participants won the Medal of Excellence at WorldSkills - International Skills Championship. The event was held in São Paulo, Brazil, and gathered 1,200 participants from 60 countries that competed for medals in 50 occupations.

Alexandre da Rosa Pacheco (Electricity) and Rui Caetano Braga Chaves (Computer Networks), both graduates of the Azores School of New Technologies, scored more than 500 points in their area of expertise. They were awarded Medals of Excellence.

WorldSkills is held every two years and is open to participants up to 22 years of age. During the event, the best qualified students from around the world compete for the world title.

The concept of Skills Championship dates back to 1950, when the first International Skills Championship was held in Madrid. At the time, it took place between Portugal and Spain.
The consolidation of this initiative led to the creation, still in the 1950s, of an organisation currently designated as WorldSkills International (http://www.worldskills.org/).

In addition to this worldwide organisation, the European Skills Promotion Organisation, presently designated as WorldSkills Europe (http://www.worldskills.org/), was created in 2007; it brings together participants from 27 European countries. The organisation is responsible for the organisation of the European Skills Championship - EuroSkills every two years.

Azorean participants have a remarkable record of good performances, whether in the European event or in the world event, including champion titles and many medals.