The Government, employers and unions have signed an agreement establishing criteria and commitments to improve the professional qualification structure and integrate the educational and occupational systems. This pact, signed this morning between the Presidency, Labor and Education departments, together with the employers, Foment del Treball and Pimec, and the unions, UGT and CC.OO., will allow until November when the FP Agency will present the general prospective report (supply and demand) and a 2023-2026 action plan.
Previously, the Government must publish the decree of integrated centers, which it plans to do in June. Catalonia is the only autonomous community that has not regulated this aspect, which is one of the keys to modernizing VT promoted by the Spanish government.
Among the commitments made today is to recognize 40 integrated centers (that provide the entire portfolio of technical training, from professional certifications to higher education cycles and specialization courses).
The other key is orientation, on which the Department of Education has announced a forthcoming decree that regulates and promotes this aspect. The FP counselors, currently 36, will increase to a hundred next year. These actions will be complemented by a training plan for teachers in educational guidance and tutorial action.
The VT planning agreement stems from the need to unify criteria, as well as to incorporate and rearrange qualifications so that young people and workers can find adequate training for their needs and those of labor demand. The qualifications will be accreditable and cumulative for subsequent training.
At the moment, the 365 offer has been presented, which includes in a single window, on the fp.gencat.cat portal, all the information and guidance for the training and professional career in the educational, labor and lifelong training system .
The Minister of the Presidency, Laura Vilagrà, recalled that the budget for Vocational Training has amounted to 901.7 million euros, a “very substantial” increase compared to last year of 720 million, which expresses the importance that the Government gives to this aspect.
He has also remarked that “for the first time in history the criteria have been agreed that have allowed the planning and prioritization of 445,818 places, with an increase of 6.42% compared to the previous year”. Of these, 31,323 correspond to professional certificates, 171,028 in the educational field and 243,467 in continuous training.
The Minister of Business and Work, Roger Torrent, has highlighted that the figure of 445,818 planned places is “historic”, “consistent with the Government’s objective that this legislature be that of the FP”.
For the Minister Josep González-Cambray “we are facing the highest offer in FP in this country, we have increased the places in a sustained manner and growing in the last three years, this increase has been adapted to the needs of the labor market and today we have presented in agreement with the main trade union and employer organizations”, he stated. In addition, he has presented changes in the FP pre-registration calendar to avoid the collapse in September that has occurred in recent years.
The head of Education has also explained that there has been “a significant increase in demand for FP places” for which the places have increased, the pre-registration and enrollment process has been improved and the orientation of young people will be addressed.
In the pre-registration for the 2023-2024 academic year, the offer grows by 273 groups, 8,129 new places and 698 new teachers will be hired.
The growth of FP is materialized in 270 new places in Training and Insertion Programs (PFI), 300 in Specific Training Itineraries (IFE), 400 in basic level FP, 3,927 in intermediate level, 2,937 in higher level and 295 in the IOC (Obert Institute of Catalonia). 22% of the new groups are aimed at young people in vulnerable situations (PFI, basic level FP and IFE).
The most promoted professional families are Health, Electricity and electronics and Commerce and marketing that coincide with the cycles most in demand in the last pre-registration.
Likewise, Cambray announced a new degree, the higher level training cycle of Training for safe and sustainable mobility. In addition, specialization courses are incorporated (what is known as FP masters): energy audit, collaborative robotics, maintenance and safety in hybrid and electric vehicle systems, and remotely piloted aircraft.
