CONAFO 2026: Villa Mercedes Gathers Specialists to Discuss the Future of Skilled Trades

The 1st National Congress on Skilled Trades Training (CONAFO 2026), organized by UPrO, began on Thursday, September 24, and runs through Friday, September 25. Over 70 activities are bringing together specialists, educators, researchers, students, and representatives from the productive sector. Villa Mercedes has become the setting for a national discussion on vocational training, technology, and the future of work. CONAFO 2026—the 1st National Congress on Skilled Trades Training—kicked off at the main campus of the Provincial University of Skilled Trades (UPrO). The event, held on September 24 and 25, features lectures, workshops, panel discussions, competitions, and company visits.

The program comprises more than 70 activities organized around three main themes: skilled trades in the age of artificial intelligence; trades training and productive development; and trades linked to sustainable development. The opening ceremony was attended by the Governor of San Luis, Claudio Poggi; the Mayor of Villa Mercedes, Maximiliano Frontera; Deputy Nicolás González Ferro; and the Secretary for Disability Affairs, Luis Giraudo. Business leader Pablo González, of El Sembrador Agricultural Machinery, also participated in the event.

UPrO Rector Rudy Cámera and Academic Secretary Alberto Ledesma led the event's organization. Prior to the Congress, Ledesma noted that the initiative aimed to bridge the gap between the classroom and the workforce, while integrating education, technology, and production.

A National Agenda Featuring Specialists

Prominent figures included Patricia Jebsen, a leading expert in e-commerce, leadership, digital transformation, and the world of work. Also participating was Pablo Heinig—an engineer, speaker, trainer, and international consultant—who is among the keynote speakers for the event. Other participants included Mercedes Iparraguirre from the National University of La Plata (UNLP), presenting the proposal "Vocational Training at Scale," and Sergio Quiroga, a researcher at the National University of Río Negro (UNRN), who addressed the topic "Trades, Entrepreneurship, and Artificial Intelligence in the Face of Structural Informality in Argentina." His presentation brought a perspective to the Congress that links vocational training, technological transformation, entrepreneurship, and the structural conditions of the Argentine labor market.

The program also features Silvana Bovio and Leticia Masson from the Institute for Continuing Teacher Training (IFDC) with the proposal "The Human Factor in the Age of AI." Dr. Hugo Flores participated by posing the question, "What does industry look for in a technician today?"—a topic directly related to the alignment between educational training and the demands of the productive sector. Representing the National University of Mar del Plata (UNMdP), Pablo Kulbaba presented an initiative involving thermal-inertia wood stoves, falling under the event's theme of innovation and sustainability.

Meanwhile, Enrique Rómulo Chiesa Torres from the National University of Villa Mercedes (UNViMe) developed the proposal "Educating for Trade Competencies," focusing on a central issue in modern vocational training: not merely transmitting technical knowledge, but developing the capacity to act effectively in real-world situations.

The business sector also participated through Marcelo Secco, CEO of Marfrig Cono Sur; his involvement was part of activities aimed at linking training with production demands. The presence of business leaders seeks to bring the perspective of those directly involved in production processes and the hiring of technical personnel into the debate. This link between education and production is a core component of the UPrO initiative. The Congress is not conceived merely as an academic gathering, but as a space where educational institutions, companies, students, teachers, researchers, and workers can come together. The “You Create the Future” panel brought together Agustina Vivero—Cumbio—, Gabriel Rubira, Sofía Jaimez Bertazzo, and Francisco Pinto, with a proposal aimed at weaving together creativity, technology, personal identity, and project development.

Including this activity expands the concept of a trade into new professional territories. Contemporary work is not limited to traditional industrial settings; it also encompasses activities linked to digital content, communication, platforms, audiovisual production, and the creative economy. One aspect that sets CoNaFO 2026 apart is the central role given to artificial intelligence. Key themes proposed by UPrO include AI applied to trades, automation, the transformation of work, virtual and augmented reality, the technological adaptation of traditional trades, and the humanization of technology.

The discussion thus raises a question currently facing technical education: how to incorporate technological tools without reducing vocational training to mere instrumental instruction. Artificial intelligence can help diagnose problems, generate information, assist in design processes, optimize tasks, and facilitate learning. However, mastering a trade still requires experience, practice, judgment, responsibility, and the ability to intervene in real-world situations. Therefore, the debate is not simply AI versus the trade, but rather what new relationships can be established between technical knowledge, human experience, and emerging technologies.

Training, employment, and entrepreneurship

The Congress's second major theme focuses on the relationship between vocational training and productive development. Job creation, entrepreneurial development, productive diversification, soft skills, the strengthening of regional economies, technological innovation, and workforce inclusion are among the event's official topics. A particularly relevant issue arises here: learning a trade does not necessarily guarantee automatic access to formal employment.

Training can expand knowledge and skills, but job opportunities also depend on the productive structure, the demand for workers, economic conditions, and labor market characteristics. Consequently, discussing trade training also means discussing what happens after the training ends: how career paths are built, how ventures are developed, and how educational institutions connect with companies and communities. This issue takes on special significance when structural informality is brought into the debate. The focus proposed by Sergio Quiroga—covering trades, entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and informality—introduces a perspective that allows the problem to be viewed from a broader dimension. The question shifts from merely how to train a person for a specific task to also considering the conditions required for that knowledge to translate into sustainable work, income, and development opportunities.

Vocational training can serve as a tool for expanding capabilities, but it cannot, on its own, resolve the structural characteristics of the labor market. The program covers renewable energy, sustainable construction, energy efficiency, sustainable water management, environmental training, new trades linked to the ecological transition, the circular economy, and social sustainability. The inclusion of these topics demonstrates that trades are also being shaped by the transition toward production models that require new competencies. The emergence of renewable energy, efficient technologies, new materials, and circular economy processes can create new job profiles and transform existing trades. The program includes hands-on workshops, competitions, and activities directly linked to practical work. Additionally, Friday the 25th features company visits and internal competitions, alongside further training sessions and talks. This practical dimension is particularly significant for an institution specializing in vocational training. The ability to solve a concrete problem, use a tool correctly, interpret a technical situation, or produce a verifiable result constitutes a fundamental aspect of vocational learning. In this sense, CoNaFO can also be viewed as a showcase of the very concept of vocational training: knowing, practicing, solving, and demonstrating capabilities.