President Bachelet Announces 2000 Scholarships for English

President Michelle Bachelet on Thursday announced the availability of two thousand scholarships for English in 2009, that will benefit students and professionals in the area of technology throughout Chile.

During 2008, a thousand young people obtained this benefit, which is part of a goal to have 6,000 people gain English proficiency before Chile’s bicentennial in 2010.

During the announcement, the president stressed that despite the complex international economic arena, the Government will continue to support human capital formation and responsible funding in its social policies.

Bachelet stated that in the current economic situation, Chile must “not bury our heads in the sand” and must “face the new challenges.”

She added that “in turbulent times, the most important thing is to not lose the north, and in our case, to strengthen our defenses, not paralyze us with problems, encourage productive activities and to continue betting on strong development”.

In this regard, Bachelet stressed that this is what allows the “wisdom” and “responsibility” with which the Government has handled its finances, “even though some criticized us for being bold.”

“Being cautious today, we can maintain social spending, the new pensions, investment in education, new hospitals and clinics, but at the same time, maintain our strategic importance, our infrastructure for competitiveness, and the training of scholars in English both here and abroad”, she said.

The English scholarship aims to enhance development of the domestic industry for global services (offshoring). In this first phase were allocated $ 1.300 million and, according to the president, postulated more than 14 thousand technicians and engineers in computer and information technology, electronics and electricity, industrial and biotechnology, among other careers sought by the industry.

In 2008, a thousand one-semester courses were conducted in 12 institutions throughout the country. Once approved, the scholars take a test to prove their proficiency, and are then entered into into a national registry — which is available to all companies that invest in Chile and require hiring technical and professional staff working with proficiency in English.

The main requirement to apply for this scholarship (which will be maintained in 2009) is to be a student, or be engaged in a professional career that is demanded by the emerging industry of global services.