In the present times of crisis training is essential, and with that all disciplines that are looking to upgrade knowledge and to allow workers to increase their skills to find a job, improve where they already have or start a freelance career. Regarding engineering disciplines this is even more important owing to the speed at which new technologies are developed and because competition is not only in the products themselves, but also within knowledge and adaptability. This paper shows how the use of mechatronics and robotics in distance education can be a motivational tool to promote retraining of people of different ages (students, workers, students-workers, the unemployed) who with minimal training in engineering want to boost their careers or start new ones.