The Generalitat, the employers' association and the Girona unions signed an agreement this Thursday to promote Vocational Training (FP) in the region.
The agreement will focus the study offers on the challenges that the region will have and also adapt the curriculum to the needs of companies.
The agreement is a pioneer in Catalonia and the employers' association hopes that it will "spread like an oil spill" to the rest of the country. This agreement also specifies that a map of continuing training centers will be created.
The objective is that training is not limited only to young people, but that anyone has a reference center close to where they live to obtain professional certificates and other qualifications.
The document sets out five strategic axes from which to develop the agreement. The first of them is to improve health studies and care for people. The Government delegate in Girona, Laia Cañigueral, recalled that the new Health campus to be built between Salt and Girona will be a great job opportunity for many companies in the sector. Furthermore, Ella Cañigueral recalled that there is an aging population and that means that personnel will be necessary to care for the elderly.
On the other hand, the agreement contemplates working on the training offer focused on the industrial sector. Cañigueral recalled that the Government's National Pact for Reindustrialization "obliges us to work" in this sector to train people who can have well-paid jobs in the industry. The delegate recalled that the objective is to ensure that the industry has a greater weight in Girona's GDP.
The agreement also contemplates acting in the tourism sector, one of the most important economic drivers of the demarcation. The intention is to promote training that incorporates the perspective of the transition towards a sustainable tourism model. "In Girona regions we have a lot of work done in this direction, but we must continue working," added Cañigueral.
In relation to sustainability, the delegate has expressed the commitment to promoting training offers in professions linked to the energy transition, water management and also forestry. These are sectors that will have an important role in the economy due to the climate emergency. The last of the axes of the agreement is the digital transformation that affects all professions.
One of the points established in the document is the need to create "comprehensive training centers" in which people can study training cycles but also obtain professional certificates and other qualifications.
The idea is that the entire population of Girona has "a reference center" and allows those interested to study cycles but also focus the offer on the active population.
The vice president of the FOEG, Eduard Ayach, considers that this is a key point that will help train workers based on new production models, which guarantees the competitiveness of companies in the region.
