The new Vocational Training Law represents a boost to the paid internship model and highlights the validity of a path in which the Canary Islands pioneered more than 30 years ago.
In the Canary Islands, 15,4 of secondary school students choose vocational training. These are figures that exceed 12% of the Spanish average but are still far from 25% of the average of the countries that make up the select OECD club. The Archipelago has a serious problem with youth unemployment. Gustavo Santana, Deputy Minister of Employment of the Government of the Canary Islands, recalled that the figures for this indicator are very bad although "in recent years we have closed some distance." But the numbers are there: in 2007, unemployment among young people was around 20% and today, after a chain of international crises, pandemics and wars in Europe, the figure climbs to 43. “It is clear that policies aimed at the most young people and we must accelerate the processes to face this problem.” And there are exits. And again the data gives us the key. Only 5% of job seekers have vocational training. Vocational Training is a true source of employment and with DUAL FP, which includes training in educational centers and companies, a hopeful path opens up. It is not something new but it is “the straightest path to have a good result,” says Carlos Suárez, DUAL FP teacher at IES Antonio Godoy Sosa, emphatically. “We started in 2013 with about 200 positions and this year 3.520 have been published.” The leap comes at the risk of Organic Law 3/2022. A law that represents a commitment to FP as an educational modality focused on professional skills and employability.
“The good thing about DUAL FP is that it results in students who are already productive when they obtain their degree,” says Enrique Pérez, retired teacher and enthusiast of the new model. “The kids leave high school and are already capable and competent people who know how to work and solve problems,” he says. The I Reeducation Forum; New Challenges, New Paradigms wanted to reflect on the future of FP, an education model that “contrary to what some think, has never stagnated,” Pérez warns. "In the Canary Islands we were pioneers in applying training cycles and implemented employment workshops, a formula that was later exported to other autonomous communities." The challenge now is to ensure that DUAL becomes a true incentive for the employability of young people. And for that, numbers have already been put on the table. Dunnia Rodríguez, director of the Canarian Employment Service, pointed out that this course 50 million euros are allocated to facilitate the hiring of those 3.520 people as apprentices. It is a bet that, according to Rodriguez, carries almost all the ballots since job insertion levels close to 80% are expected.
DUAL FP is a new concept of Vocational Training in which 30% of the contents are applied in private companies through a system of tutorials taught by highly experienced workers: it is a model that aims to overcome the figure of the intern and bet on hiring interns from minute one. For this, the company receives financial incentives that reward this teaching work. “The company brings a lot of value to the students. Not only are links created between educational centers and workplaces; Synergies are also beginning to be created that crystallize in joint projects. It is clear that this system is giving very good results,” explains Carlos Suárez.
Within the framework of this new legislative context, the Government of the Canary Islands is taking steps to cover the needs imposed by the new economic reality. The first agreements have already been signed with companies within the framework of the new Blue Economy (linked to the sea from multiple points of view) and other agreements are already being prepared in sectors of the Circular Economy, New Technologies or the green energy revolution. “It is crucial to be able to satisfy job offers in these new emerging sectors from the Canary Islands, but that does not mean neglecting other more traditional areas,” indicates the Regional Deputy Minister of Employment.
“The FP is a true source of employment,” adds Gustavo Santana. “It is clear that much more can be done, but this new regulatory framework gives us possibilities that we did not have before and that are already beginning to give very good results.” The deputy minister announced that in the near future an agreement that has been reached unanimously (with employers and unions) will be signed to promote DUAL in the Canary Islands. “The idea is to collect the real demands of companies. That's the key,” he concludes as vice-counselor.
