ELIGE MADERA Education + Wood: Development Perspective in Chile's Technical Schools Though typically focused on furniture or construction, technical high schools cover a myriad of subjects; from the properties of wood, planimetry and design to the application of that knowledge with machinery and tools. And that’s not all! Many of these educational establishments also have agreements with local businesses for the job placement and continuity of their students in the labor market. Though typically focused on furniture or construction, technical high schools cover a myriad of subjects; from the properties of wood, planimetry and design to the application of that knowledge with machinery and tools. And that’s not all! Many of these educational establishments also have agreements with local businesses for the job placement and continuity of their students in the labor market. Here, we’ll tell you about a few of them: High Schools with a focus on Construction and an emphasis on building San Carlos Polytechnic High School, located in the Ñuble Region, and Llifén Technical and Vocational Institute, located in the Los Ríos Region, have similar curriculum and both share an emphasis on building. They cover construction from theory to practice as well as carpentry and installation of furniture, doors, windows, wall coverings, ceilings and more. High Schools with a focus on Furniture and Wood Finishing Miraflores Alto Industrial High School in Viña del Mar has a curriculum that focuses mainly on planimetry, design and furniture construction. At Talca Superior Industrial High School, on the other hand, they work on the preparation, placement and treatment of different types of wood in order to learn different finishing techniques. By comparison, Gonzalo Guglielmi Montiel High School in Yumbel, in the Bío Bío Region, seeks to provide its students with a complete understanding of wood in order to introduce them to a job market where they’ll find work in industries, factories, workshops, construction companies, sawmills, and hardware stores, among others. At San Nicolás Bicentennial of Excellence Multipurpose High School, students learn to select raw materials, interpret and render basic designs, and manufacture wood product parts and pieces while learning to become young construction engineers. High schools with a focus on Construction and an emphasis on construction finishes Dr. Oscar Marín Socías High School, in Viña del Mar commune again, is another high school that focuses on its students developing skills to master machinery, deal with safety regulations and first aid, as well as learn computer programs such as Word, Excel, AutoCAD, Cuttmaster 2.0 (for cubing) and 3D Studio (for designing spaces.) This is one of the many schools in Chile that have an agreement with companies such as Homecenter, Sodimac and Easy. Along with Dr. Oscar Marín Socías High, there’s also San Ignacio High and Alejandro Rojas Sierra High, both in the Maule Region. The former teaches 13 subjects related to plans/graphic representation, wood defects and practical manufacturing workshops. Alejandro Rojas Sierra High deals with similar subjects and has arrangements with different companies in the field such as the Arauca Educational Foundation and Corma, which can train students and provide them with trade certifications. These are just a few of the high schools throughout the country that have introduced wood into their curriculum. It’s important to notice and consider the exciting possibilities this raw material has in this day and age, when its use is essential in terms of sustainability.