After Brazil, America. SENAI Areias student Luiz Fernando Barbosa won the gold medal at WorldSkills America, the largest technical education competition on the continent. The event, which ended last Saturday, gave Luiz first place in the Networking and Cabling category.

The competition brought together representatives from Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and the Dominican Republic, all national champions in their fields. The competition consisted of four different modules. The first required the competitors to diagram, install and certify a complete optical network, interconnecting different points.

The second module required precise planning and execution of the infrastructure. In the third, students simulated the installation of a smart home. In the last one, the agility of fiber optic mergers was evaluated.

“Competing away from home was a challenge. It's an international competition, so you're more nervous, the materials are different, the competitors are different too. And all this makes us get out of our comfort zone, makes us grow more as competitors and as a team. We now return to Brazil stronger and better prepared for Shanghai,” said Luiz.

INTERNATIONAL STAGE

In October, Luiz Fernando had already won gold at the national stage in the Network Infrastructure occupation. It was this achievement that qualified him for WorldSkills America and the international stage, which will be held in September next year in Shanghai, China.

“Luiz's participation in WorldSkills America demonstrates the high level of technical preparation of Brazilian students and reinforces SENAI's role in training qualified professionals for the challenges of Industry 4.0,” said Luiz's coach and SENAI teacher, Pedro Lucas.