São Paulo – A delegation of 15 professionals from the United Arab Emirates will be in Brazil next week to prepare for the WorldSkills São Paulo 2015 contest, set to take place in august. They will exchange experiences with Brazilian contestants in the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Federal District and Rio Grande do Sul.
WorldSkills Competition is the world’s leading professional training contest. It is held biennially, features participants from over 50 countries and simulates the challenges of different professions, which must be addressed observing international quality standards. Competitors must pass tests by displaying technical skills, individually and in groups, completing tasks specific to each professional occupation.
The competition’s 43rd edition will be the first one held in Latin America. The event will take place in São Paulo from August 11th to 16th. The event is being organized in Brazil by the National Industrial Apprenticeship Service (Senai).
The WorldSkills Competition is divided into six major categories: Manufacturing and Engineering Technology; Information and Communication Technology; Construction and Building Technology; Transportation and Logistics; Creative Arts and Fashion; and Social and Personal Services.
The UAE delegation coming to Brazil comprises nine competitors and six technicians. “In Germany, 2013, coaches [from Brazil and the UAE] got along well, so one UAE coach asked if he could come to Brazil for a workshop,” says Thiago Morcatty, the technical supervisor of Senai Betim (Minas Gerais).
The Minas Gerais chapter of Senai will welcome the UAE‘s Mobile Robotics contestants. They will exchange experiences with the team composed of Carlos Adriano Vieira and Victor Gabriel Veríssimo, plus coach Rafael Damásio. The Minas-based team won WorldSkills America, the regional leg of the global contest held in Colombia, 2014, and the Knowledge Olympics held last year in Brazil.
“They will discuss work methodologies, how each of them goes about building gear wheels, etc,” Morcatty explains. In the competition, they will need to build a robot capable of performing tasks like reading bar codes, among others.
The other UAE contestants will stay in other cities throughout Brazil, near the Brazilian teams they will train with. The Mechatronics team will go to Caxias do Sul (Rio Grande do Sul); the Electronics contestants, to São Leopoldo (Rio Grande do Sul), those competing in Computer Networks will be lodged in Salvador (Bahia); and the Jewelry and Gardening teams will stay in Brasília (Federal District).
According to Morcatty, the competition winners earn medals and the recognition of being the best in the world in their lines of work, which often paves the way to positions with major corporations.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
