The nerves were clearly visible in the young man's eyes, but they weren't strong enough to hide his pride in winning the gold medal. Before hearing his name, to receive the award, the wide smile on Diogo Cabede's face fades a little and the young man takes a deep breath, perhaps because he remembers that he was the only one of the 20 competitors in the host region of the National Championship of Professions, the Algarve, winning first place in the competition that took place this month in Faro.
The event brought 240 young people from all over the country to the Algarve capital, in different learning cycles and some even already working in companies. The final was made in celebration, by those who won, but also by those who participated without taking home a medal, as conviviality is also one of the central points of SkillsPortugal.
Thus, the Algarve will only have one representative at EuroSkills, the European championship of professions that will take place in Belgium in October this year and the world championship in July 2013, but the performance of young people in the region is noteworthy. Of the 20 students from schools in the region who participated in the competition, half, or 10, managed to collect medals in the most different professional areas. Further north, but still south of the Tagus, competitors from Alentejo won 19 medals. Of these, four were gold.
In the end, happiness was clearly visible on the face of Diogo Cabede, from the Silves pole of the Professional Training Center in Portimão. The medal was won in the plumbing category, but, curiously, this is not even the competitor's current business. «I am currently a cold technician. I'm taking a course in this area», he revealed.
The mastery of installing plumbing comes from a previous course, "which is already completed". A spirit of successive search for training that is not uncommon among competitors in the National Championship of Professions.
«Has completed the channeling course. But as it only gave equivalence to the 9th grade and that is nothing nowadays, I entered this refrigeration, to finish the 12th grade», he said.
During the competition, he said, the pressure for the work itself is not as much as it feels to be always being watched. "All the people there [visitors] are a bit uncomfortable," he confessed with a smile.
As for the perspective of representing Portugal in the competition at European level, Diogo assured that he hasn't thought about it yet. "I just want to get home and see my mother, because I'm dead," he said, laughing.
Comments