Chile’s national competition strengthens regional cooperation in skills

With a small team focused on a common goal of pushing forward the WorldSkills movement in the Americas, WorldSkills Chile organized their eighth National Skills Competition in October 2024.

The event took place at nine venues across four Chilean regions, in a format similar to WorldSkills Competition 2022 Special Edition, with approximately 500 Competitors and Experts from 81 institutions competing in 19 skills.

Vocational schools, polytechnics, and private companies opened their doors to welcome skilled young people not only from Chile, but also from Bonaire, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, and Uruguay.

This ongoing initiative of inviting neighbouring countries to participate in their nationals brings many benefits to both the Competitors and the organizing team.

“It raises the bar for us administratively, and competitively, as Competitors from other teams had already earned medals during their respective nationals,” said Alejandro Weinstein, Director of WorldSkills Chile and Official Delegate for Chile at WorldSkills.

Mr Weinstein, recently elected as WorldSkills Board member – Strategic Development for WorldSkills International, said that all teams “brought back medals to their countries, which helped regain momentum and political support towards the WorldSkills movement in the region.”

With such opportunities Chile hopes to nurture the expansion of WorldSkills in the Latin American region, strengthen cooperation in skills development, and to help recognize the talent and diversity within the continent.

Working closely with the Ministry of Education, they bring together the Chilean Confederation of Production and Trade and education and training providers from Chile’s 15 regions. In addition to organising the competition, they run capacity-building programmes for trainers and students in public and private institutions.

“Last year, WorldSkills Chile trained more than 5,000 teachers, and we do that for free” states Mr Arsenio Fernandez, President of WorldSkills Chile and WorldSkills Americas. “More than a Competition, we are the hub of technical and vocational education and training in Chile”.

This year, as well as the next national competition, the country will also host WorldSkills Americas 2025 in Santiago de Chile from 3-8 November 2025.