Simon Bartley visits Brazil
From 25-28 March, Simon Bartley, President of WorldSkills International, was in Brazil to discuss the opportunity that WorldSkills Competition offers to the young people of Brazil and the world.
During his visit, Bartley had meetings in the City Council of São Paulo and in Brasilia, with government authorities such as senator Cyro Miranda and congressman Glauber Rocha. Mr. Bartley also met Robson Braga de Andrade, President of Brazilian Industry Confederation (CNI) and Rafael Lucchesi, General Director of the National Service for Industrial Training (SENAI).
"We want to increasingly convince young people that a technical career based on professional education, has the same importance of a college career. The Competition reinforces our mission", said Bartley.
Competition expectations
WorldSkills São Paulo 2015 will be held between 11-16 August 2015 at Anhembi Park, the largest conference centre in Latin America. It is the first time in history that the WorldSkills Competition will be held in South America. During the course of the Competition, more than 1 thousand competitors from more than 60 country and regions are expected in São Paulo. They will compete in 45 different skills.
At the last edition, in Leipzig (Germany), the brazilian team received 12 medals and got fifth place, with 52 points. Korea (89 points), Switzerland (73), Chinese Taipei (65) and Japan (56), completed the Top-5.
For 2015, Brazilians have big expectations. "We will, just like in the World Cup, be the champions", said congressman Colbert Martins, member of the Science and Technology Committee from the Brazilian House of Representatives. "So, we'll have a great competition. But beating the Koreans is not an easy task", Simon joked, remembering that just as important as winning is exchanging experiences and techniques to improve our learning process.