Providing equipment for a vocational training center for disadvantaged youth

The Rexel Foundation and the Schneider Electric Foundation are joining forces to promote access to safer and cleaner energy for the people of the city of Lebu in Chile. Together they are providing professional training for the city’s young students from disadvantaged backgrounds, in electricity and industrial automation to help them obtain an advanced level professional qualification.

Develop career training in the energy efficiency field

The aim of the project was to develop a training center in Lebu, providing vocational training courses in industrial maintenance, in order to increase professional opportunities for students and encourage entrepreneurship in energy efficiency.

A professional training center to support the economic development of Lebu

Located in Southern Chile, Lebu is one of the poorest cities in the country, despite its close proximity to forest industries. To develop paper-manufacturing activities—wood pulp is Chile’s third largest export—these forest industries need constantly greater numbers of skilled workers in electricity and automation.

In 2009, the Schneider Electric Foundation created a training center in Lebu in partnership with CEDUC-UCN. Dedicated to young students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the center is intended to provide this region with the professional skills it needs to develop its economy, particularly in the electricity and industrial automation sectors.

The Rexel Foundation and the Schneider Electric Foundation joined forces in 2012 to provide funding and equipment for the training center in Lebu in order to sustain its activity.

This is how the “Lebu Lightning Bolt” project was born, with three goals

•  Update technical equipment for the training laboratories.
•  Provide full scholarships for 30 new students.
•  Help students gain professional skills and improve their access to first employment.

Long-term impact on the region’s socio-economic development

• The Rexel Foundation is providing full scholarships for 30 students chosen by Schneider Electric Chile for vocational training in industrial automation maintenance. This two-year training course enables students to obtain an advanced level professional qualification recognized by the European Union.
• Maintenance and upkeep of the technical equipment at the training center, the first institute of higher education in Lebu.
• Contribution to the socio-economic development of the community and propagation of automation maintenance and energy efficiency techniques.