Azores Skills 2026 featuring over 140 participants from all regional vocational schools - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego

The 26th Regional Skills Championship – Azores Skills 2026, organised by the Government of the Azores, will take place from 2 to 6 November at the Azores Training Centre (CQA) in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel.

Promoted by the Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment, through the Regional Directorate for Vocational Training and Employment, this edition features a total of 141 participants, including 90 contestants and 51 judges, marking the highest turnout ever. For the first time, Azores Skills is involving all regional vocational schools and, also for the first time, is including professionals from the regional business community on the judging panel.

There will be 21 occupations competing across 19 professional fields: Restaurant and Bar Service; Agriculture and Livestock Farming; Electricity and Electrical Installations; Caring; Electronics; Accounting and Management; Confectionery; Hotel Reception; Mechatronics; Culinary; Cyber Security; Web Technologies; IT Network Management; Beauty Therapy; Renewable Energy; Welding and Robotics.

Azores Skills is a competition where students enrolled in vocational schools throughout the Azores put their knowledge and skills to the test across various professions. It is the regional qualifying round for the 47th National Skills Championship – WorldSkills Portugal, which will take place from February 23 to 27 in Aveiro.

“This Azores Skills event reflects our commitment to recognising the young people's skills and talent. It also demonstrates that, when we all pull together, we give greater strength and visibility to education in vocational schools,” stated the Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, Maria João Carreiro.

As part of Azores Skills 2026, a range of initiatives are planned, aimed not only at young people attending the competition but also at businesses and the wider community.

Among these daily initiatives are the “Azores Skills Tour,” through which visitors can travel through the world of occupations with a front-row view of the competition and the competitors’ talent, and “Inside Azores Skills,” an opportunity to learn about the competitions and assessment criteria alongside judges.

With the “Azores Skills Talk” initiative, visitors will have the opportunity, every day, to chat with professionals and experts in the fields of Employment, Youth, Occupational Safety and Health, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Another highlight is the seminar "Skills Development in Partnership with Businesses: New Approaches to Training Young People and Adults," which will take place at the CQA auditorium on November 3 at 9:30 a.m. The opening session will be chaired by the Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment.

The following speakers will take part in the roundtable discussion at this seminar, which will be moderated by Renato Medeiros, Regional Director for Vocational Training and Employment:

•             Eduardo Neves, Head of the Vocational Training Department at the Vocational Training Centre for the Construction and Public Works Industry – CICCOPN;

•             Elísio Silva, Head of DUAL – Vocational Training;

•             Sofia Mota, Director of Human Resources at Bensaude;

•             Acir Fernandes Meirelles, President of the Board of Directors of CQA;

•             João Dâmaso Moniz, President of the Board of the Association of Vocational Schools of the Azores – AEPA;

•             Paula Stone, Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ponta Delgada.

A total of 927 new students are beginning the 2026/2027 school year at regional vocational schools, enrolled in year one of 49 level 4 vocational courses. This represents an increase of 41 new students compared with the 2025/2026 school year and 193 new students compared with the 2020/2021school year.

This year, the Regional Government once again focused heavily on promoting education in vocational schools through the "Your First Choice’ campaign," which featured young people enrolled in vocational courses and fields of strategic importance to the Region.

As part of this campaign, the initiative “Your First Choice – Discovering Careers” organised live demonstrations of different occupations at Pavilhão do Mar in Ponta Delgada last May, promoting first-hand knowledge of various career paths amongst school-age young people and encouraging them to make more informed decisions.