Dual Education in Nacimiento: Tutors and mentors were recognized for their contribution to the students of the CMPC Duoc UC Nacimiento Campus

More than 50 employees working at the CMPC plants in Laja, Santa Fe, and Pacífico, voluntarily and enthusiastically, have guided and conducted workshops within each production unit to accompany and prepare students for their future integration into the labor market.

“I am very proud to represent the female gender in the workplace and as a program tutor,” said Isamar Gallegos, the only woman in the program, who is an electrical operator at the Laja Plant.

A hundred people gathered at the CMPC Duoc UC Nacimiento Campus this Tuesday to participate in the Certification and Recognition Ceremony for Tutors and Mentors of the CMPC Dual Training Program.

The event aimed to recognize the Tutors and Mentors for their commitment to this program, which was launched at the campus last year. The innovative model integrates the working world with education, allowing part of the learning process to take place at the CMPC Duoc UC Campus and in the three CMPC pulp plants: Laja, Pacífico, and Santa Fe.

In addition to the employees who received recognition, attendees at the ceremony included Francisco Ruiz Tagle, CMPC General Manager; María Constanza Arjona, People and Organization Manager; Guillermo Turner, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Manager; Guilherme Domingos, Santa Fe Plant Manager; and Carlos Figueroa, Pacífico Plant Manager, among others. Representatives from Duoc UC were also present, including Pablo Briones, Deputy Director of the Nacimiento Campus, and José Meneses, Director of the School of Engineering. 

During the event, the 2023 team of tutors and mentors from the three plants was recognized, and certification diplomas were awarded to the tutors who joined in 2024.

“This period has gone by very quickly, during which we were able to exchange information between tutors and apprentices. Working with young people is an injection of energy, where we feel involved, and there is nothing better than leaving a teaching for new generations. We stay more active, reassured by knowing that our legacy is bearing fruit,” said Claudio Ríos, an electrician in the Drying area of the Santa Fe plant and a program tutor.

“I was part of the project from the beginning, and the idea was to pass on what we do, our knowledge, our experience to the young people and thus add extra value to their learning. This has been a very beautiful, very good, and very enriching experience for both us and the students,” said Irenio Retamal, who works in the electro-control unit of CMPC’s Pacífico plant and is a program tutor.

“I have been able to pass on my knowledge to my students and support them both professionally and personally. It has been very special, as it has helped me communicate better with the young people and gain more experience dealing with students. I am very proud to represent the female gender in the workplace and as a program tutor,” said Isamar Gallegos, tutor and electrical operator at the Laja Plant.

To carry out this important role, the tutors, with the support of their mentors, focused on the technical learning that would be useful for the students, while also conveying the purpose, values, and unique characteristics of CMPC.

“When you become a tutor and set out to teach, that’s when you learn the most. Having tutors who dedicate time beyond their usual tasks, like Isamar (Gallegos, the only female tutor in the program), is truly a gift. I think the students need to take advantage of this gift, because being able to train and get a glimpse of what their professional future will be like is a tremendous opportunity happening now in this partnership between CMPC and Duoc UC,” said Francisco Ruiz Tagle, CMPC General Manager.

“This is something very innovative in higher education, and we are doing it together with CMPC, where students gain practical experience starting in their second semester. In essence, students are exposed in advance to a real work environment, and that is important because it adds much more value to their learning, and of course, the tutor is a key element for this to happen,” emphasized Pablo Briones, Deputy Director of the CMPC – Duoc UC campus.

In the first semester, the students took a course that allowed them to acquire all the knowledge in safety and prevention needed to work in an industrial plant. This year, 80 of the 360 students enrolled on campus chose Dual Education, and they were received by a CMPC tutor who, along with the mentors, accompanied them in this first introduction to the working world.