This month the newsletter brings many new features! Once again we continue to premiere, this time with a fixed section in the same newsletter dedicated to women, VET, ICT, and STEAM. Every month you will find news related to this triangle.
The first section is from 8 March, and the winners of the Dona TIC 2023 prize in the VET category.
We presented you to Emma Casadevall, who explained in the interview the need for female references for young girls so that they are interested in the sector and above all they are willing to join it to collectively reduce the gender gap.
We have also known the story of Yolanda Moreno, winner of the special mention DONATIC 2023 category FP. Yolanda tells us how she realized that her path was another of what she was atomizing through university and thanks to VET.

On March 19th we attended, at the Llotja de Mar, the presentation of the study “The labor market insertion of professional studies 2023”.

Professional training continues to be one of the training routes that guarantee a better job placement, according to the study data, which has already reached the seventeenth edition. It gathers that the rate of employment of graduates in VET has increased for the third consecutive year and stands at 54.49%. In 2021 this rate reached 45.32%, while in 2022 it was 52.05%.

The Minister of Education, Anna Simó, the Minister of Business and Labour, Roger Torrent, and the president of the General Council of Chambers of Catalonia, Josep Santacreu, presented the main conclusions of the report. The general director of VET, Mercè Chacón, commented on the most relevant data of the study, and the director of the Chamber Council, Narcís Bosch, spoke about the role of companies.

The study also analyses the employment outcomes of graduates in Dual Vocational Training. In this case, the percentage reaches 66.29%, almost 5 points higher than the previous survey.

Study of the labor market insertion of professional studies 2023

We visit with the students participating in the MetropolisFPLab and the different companies and institutions that take on the challenges of the project. To develop a good prototype, we have to know from the inside how organizations operate, to finish making grounded and well-focused proposals.

On March 15, at the Convent of Barcelona Activa, the Forum of Cities met with the VET Council. The Forum brings together different VET boards and sectoral boards or councils of the territory. Its role is relevant in the field of VET for the link and knowledge of the territories where they are located. The meeting was dedicated to working on a new agreement that framed all the novelties we have had in the field of VET. In the second part, we had the intervention of Fabian Mohedano, executive president of the FPCAT Agency, who explained the forecasting reports and the deployment of integrated centers.

At the meeting, Marta Carranza was thanked for all the work done as secretary of the FP Council of Barcelona, as she moves on to retirement. The transfer of the technical secretariat of the Forum to the city of Mataró was also discussed.

The association of European cities Xarxa FP was one of the first institutions in Europe to offer internationalization opportunities to students, graduates, teachers, and vocational training centers. Since 1999, through Xarxa FP, of which 40 cities from 15 European states are part, more than 11,000 international mobility programs have been managed by young VET students.

This past Wednesday, March 13, in the Saló de Cent, the 25th anniversary of the Xarxa FP has been celebrated. María Gómez Ortueta, director of the Professional Training Unit of the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE) spoke about the future of the internationalization of Vocational Training. The event continued with a round table on Erasmus experiences with Philippe Marchal, director of European affairs of the Toulouse City Council; Montse Blanes, director of the Institut FP Sanitària Barcelona; Raquel Silipú, student of the Institut Escola d’Hosteleria i Turisme de Barcelona, and Randi Hagner, student of the Fremdspracheninstitut of Landerhauptstadt München.

Currently, Xarxa FP is one of the few institutions that carry out international mobility projects for people of all educational levels, including students of intermediate and higher level training cycles, vocational training teachers, graduates in vocational training in unemployed situations, and is one of the few state and European institutions that manages international mobility for young students of training and insertion programs (PFI) making internationalization reach all educational levels.

With the 25th anniversary of Xarxa FP, the importance and experience of the institution in promoting international mobility and promoting cooperation between European cities is highlighted. Xarxa FP continues to be a fundamental pillar for the personal and professional growth of students, teachers, and vocational training professionals throughout the continent.

We have attended the presentation, as well as participated in the organization, of the 8th edition of Advanced Factories, a reference event in Robotics and Industrial Automation very important for Vocational Training.

The Foundation has had the pleasure of organizing, together with the Cercle d’Economia Foundation, the Session “Companies and institutions facing the challenge of dual training”.

The new Vocational Training Act proposes a single integrated system relating it to the world of work, both for people who are employed and unemployed. This Law focuses on the person and develops a system that accompanies him throughout his life. In this new regulatory framework, all the training is proposed in a dual format, an educational modality where part of the training is carried out in a company or institution that is jointly responsible for the entire process, becoming a training organization.

Therefore, to publicize these initiatives, we have had related speakers and experts in the field to know the position of public institutions and business experiences in dual training.

Pedro Fontana, president of the Cercle d’Economia Foundation, welcomed the attendees to the session and introduced Mr. Joaquim Nadal, Minister of the Department of Research and Universities. Nadal states that the field of VET dual training has a valued path and, on the other hand, in the university field it is still a pending subject. Next, Costas, president of CESE, explains that we need good jobs for more people in more places in the country and companies need workers. ‘Celestine’ is a dual formation.

Within the framework of the round table, the director of European Financing and Public Affairs of Ametller Origen, Marta Angerri, the CEO of Aigües de Barcelona, Felipe Campos, the director of communication and RH of SIGMA, Estefanía Muñoz, the person manager, organization and electronic administration of the Barcelona City Council, Javier Pascual, and the owner of the office of the Vilaplana pharmacy, Montse Vilaplana.
The participants have shared their experiences, all positive with the DUAL Formation.

What measures can local administrations take to encourage the implementation of Dual VET in their area?

The Educaweb portal has recently published a monograph on the subject of Dual VET. We have contributed with an article that discusses the role of local public administrations in creating an ecosystem that supports Dual VET in their region.

Over time, these administrations have become increasingly important in the development of Dual VET, and have the potential to be a valuable partner in this field.

We invite you to read our article, and to explore the report in which it is featured. This monograph contains a range of interesting interviews and opinions on the subject of Dual VET. It is definitely worth a read if you are interested in this topic:

https://www.educaweb.com/noticia/2024/02/29/pueden-hacer-administraciones-locales-potenciar-fp-dual-su-territorio-21492/