On Tuesday, December 12th, 2023, the Observatory and Innovation & Business technicians visited the School of Audiovisual Media of Barcelona (EMAV). The purpose of the visit was to learn about the center’s facilities, projects, and team of professionals who have been passionately training individuals in the field of Audiovisual Communication for 53 years.

During the visit, we also gathered valuable insights about the industry’s trends, professional profiles, skills, and future. These findings will be used to support the study of Cultural and Creative Industries at the BCN VET Foundation’s Observatory.

The permanent commission of the Professional Training Council of Barcelona met on December 11th. During the meeting, the Barcelona Education Consortium presented registration data for the current academic year and initiated a discussion on the evolving state of vocational education training in the city. The discussion included a segment on initiatives from various organizations, during which UGT and the Plataforma per la Llengua presented a document on the use of Catalan in vocational training.

On December 14th, the Municipal Educational Council of Barcelona and the Council of Vocational Training of the City held a joint working session called “Debat de Debats: parla la comunitat educativa.” The session presented the conclusions of the committees and working groups of both participation bodies.

On Wednesday, November 29th, 2023, the BCN VET Foundation participated in the MICROELECTRONICS, ENERGY, WOMEN, STEAM, VET AND EMPLOYABILITY Conference, which was the first joint event of ECoVEM with SECOVE in Bilbao. The conference was organized by the GAIA ANCCP Cluster, in collaboration with Politeknika Txorierri UPV/EHU, Merytronic, AI4VET4AI, ZIV Educación-Universidad Nacional.

High school students and teachers attended the conference to learn about European projects, initiatives, and good practices aimed at attracting girls to STEAM. Two industrial companies, ZIV and Merytronic, led by women, showcased how attractive STEAM studies could be, especially in the field of microelectronics and energy. They also highlighted how choosing VET could become a successful and promising option for students.

The “VET Conference. Orientation on the city” took place this morning at the Bellvitge Gornal Cultural Centre. Representatives from the fields of education, training, research and business participated in the conference with the objective of boosting VET by addressing orientation as a key element.

During the conference, it was emphasized that VET must play a prominent role in projects that aim to face the challenges of the future and transform municipalities, by offering teachings that adapt to the demands of the labour market and new professions that emerge. The importance of joint work between administrations, the world of education and the business sector was also highlighted.

The conference provided an opportunity for us to participate and support, and to learn about the good practices of the city council itself. We discussed with the different agents involved in orientation, both from the educational and business side, highlighting the relevance of the local world in VET for its knowledge.

The IX edition of the Alliance Forum for Dual VET provided a platform for representatives from the business and educational sectors, as well as institutions and experts from national and international levels, to discuss the transition from dual VET to a future success model. The Forum showcased key initiatives and projects of dual VET in companies, educational centers, and organizations. It also explored dual education in the university environment through a session titled “Dual education: Building bridges between higher education and dual VET,” which was led by our manager, Neus Pons. The session delved into the transfer of a dual model and demonstrated that the “dual university training is the next stop of the dual train.”

Later, Ángel Tarriño, coordinator of the Foundation’s Observatory, together with Manuel Fernández, director of EFA La Malvesía, participated in a round table moderated by Victoria Sanjuan, a researcher at the Observatory. The discussion focused on the rotation between companies in dual VET programs, with a particular emphasis on “The rotation between companies in dual VET programs” study. The study highlighted the importance of dual rotation in developing this model in a territory with SMEs and micro-SMEs, especially after the law is deployed.

The 9th edition of the Dona TIC Awards 2023 took place on Thursday, November 16, 2023 at the Convent dels Àngels of MACBA. These awards are promoted by the General Directorate of the Knowledge Society of the Department of Business and Labour, in collaboration with the Catalan Institute of Women, the Women’s Observatory, Business and Economics of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Digital Tertulia Association.

The awards are divided into eight categories and two subcategories, one of which is for an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) VET student who has developed an outstanding project or initiative in this field.

The winners in the ICT VET student category 2023 have been:

• Emma Casadevall Hernández student of the Higher VET in Computer Systems and Network Administration, profile in cybersecurity, at the Pedralbes Institute in Barcelona. Project: (CarmelIA) an artificial intelligence application connected to a Bluetooth bracelet to help women who are in been harrassed. 
• As a novelty, this year there has been a special mention in requalification:

Yolanda Moreno Arranz, Higher VET student Web Application Development (DAW) at the Pedralbes Institute in Barcelona. Project Picture This, a web application for learning in English.

We also want to highlight the two finalists:

• Júlia Sudan Catalán, student of Higher VET Telecommunication and computer systems at the Escola del Treball. Project development of an app to make the music industry more egalitarian.  

• Marta La Parra Pareja student of Higher VET 3D animation and games and interactive environments at the School of Audiovisual Media (EMAV) in Barcelona. Project Spectrum, a video game with the aim of helping people with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) to integrate into society.

The Foundation has been a member of the jury for the DONA TIC Awards since 2017. This initiative recognizes female talent and leadership in the technology field, with professional training being a crucial component.

Congratulations to all the winners, finalists, centers, teachers, and families involved.

We aim to highlight the role of women in the digital world and make it more visible!

Press release 

October 2023 ends with an increase in the number of people unemployed in Barcelona: 62,414, 1% more than in September. At the same time, however, contracting has continued along the path of growth that began in September, with a notable rise during the month of October: a growth of 20.3% in the city of Barcelona (with 79,619 contracts in the last month, 16,181 more than the previous month) and 1.1% in the rest of the Metropolitan Area.

As for contracting: it has experienced an increase of 20.3% in October, continuing the ascent started in September (31.5%). However, the 79,619 contracts in October in the city of Barcelona are 2.5% less than in the same month of 2022. The group that has been most positively affected has been the one of people aged 45 and over (24.2%), and what has grown at a lower rate, although equally remarkable, is the one of people aged 25 to 29 (15.4%). In relation to the training level, the most benefited profiles have been those with VET training, with a growth of 43.8% for professionals with Initial VET degrees, and with a rise of 34.7% for those with Higher VET degrees. Finally, most of the hiring was temporary (56.6%) and, at the same time, this was the type of hiring that led to the increase compared to the previous month.

With regard to unemployment: Unemployment rises by 1% in October 2023 compared to September, with 622 people unemployed. This increase has affected both men and women alike, who have followed the average pace of the city. The rise in the number of unemployed people affects all age groups, with rhythms relatively similar to the city average.

Regarding the economic activities of reference in Barcelona, the only one that in the last month has decreased its number of unemployed people is education (-3.3%). On the contrary, the activities that have increased the most in number of unemployed are services of buildings and gardening (4%) and food and beverage (2.2%). The rest of the groups are closer to the average values of the city.

All the detailed information: https://lnkd.in/gFvqzkG

Erasmus in Barcelona! Over the next few weeks, students from different cities of the Xarxa FP, such as Viborg and Westerburg, will be carrying out their training stays in BCN. Escola del treball and Baluard Barceloneta are among the institutions involved in this international mobility program.

Mobility never stops! We’re kickstarting European and international relations projects for 2024 with our annual meeting to disseminate international mobility projects.

The group mobility project promoted by the BCN Vocational Training Foundation aims to improve employability and promote the employment of young graduates in vocational training through:

• A language training in German (level 0 to B1).   
• 5 visits to companies of the AMB.   
• 10 social, cultural and civic activities.   
• 1 individual tutoring per month.   
• 6-week professional internship programme in Germany (2,184€ grant).   
• Work contract for training and learning of around 12 months with a German company (salary from 1,600€ to 2,200€ per month, depending on the sector).
• Approval of the Catalan vocational training qualification in Germany (scholarship of 440€ that requires co-financing by the participant).

All the criteria and the timetable are here.

We are looking for young people from 18 to 29 years old, just like Pau, to participate in the project. (see his video of the experience here)

Young people interested must register for one of the information sessions that we will do during the months of November 2023 and February 2024, through the following link: https://forms.gle/Zms9sBt4DprEgu7z6

FOR MORE INFORMATION

mcasas@fundaciobcnfp.cat  o 934132101.