Experts emphasize, in an event organized by COEC, that joining this program is the most effective and profitable recruitment of talent for the business fabric
Going to university is not the only alternative, nor is it a secure passport to access the job market. Dual Vocational Training (FP) has gained integers in recent years, becoming an attractive option for young people and also for adults who want to retrain their job. In the Region of Murcia, this learning modality, which combines training in the center with paid and supervised practice in companies, is arousing great interest from both students, thanks to the shorter study time, they do more practices and have a direct link with the sector, as well as with the business fabric, since it allows them to attract talent and mold it according to their needs.
With the aim of continuing to position this educational pathway as a solid outlet, the Regional Confederation of Business Organizations of Cartagena (COEC) organized, with the collaboration of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Region of Murcia, yesterday a ‘webinar’ with the participation of representatives of institutions and companies in Campo de Cartagena that are committed to Dual FP to address their strengths and challenges.
The president of COEC, Ana Correa, opened the digital meeting by recalling the Bazán Technical School for Apprentices, which during its years of operation applied a method similar to the current Dual FP: “One was trained while working.” During his speech, he addressed the employers to insist that this type of teaching responds to the lack of qualified workforce, since this synergy allows them to “get involved in the training of students from the first moment they enter their facilities ».
The Region has offered this course more than 32,000 Vocational Training places In the Dual model, the registration fee in Social Security is subsidized 100%
Luis Eduardo Gómez, deputy director general of Professional Training at CARM, highlighted the good health of VET in the Region of Murcia, where they have passed, “for the first time”, the 600 cycles in this academic year, with more 32,000 places. He also stressed that in the last five years the number of places has increased by more than 25%, “and we are going to continue in this line.” In fact, he estimates that “we will grow above 1,800 places” next year.
One of the distinctive features of the Dual mode is the time that the student invests in the workplace, which is between 660 and 800 hours. Likewise, Gómez encouraged companies to ride this wave, highlighting the advantages they can receive, including the 100% bonus for the Social Security registration fee and the recruitment of talent. Finally, he emphasized the need to update the knowledge of the teaching staff of the training centers, in order to instruct the students in line with the reality of the markets.
High employability
“We have many FP Dual students who already hold positions of responsibility,” said Francisco Hernández, director of CIFP Carlos III, referring to this type of training as a “vehicle for employability.” Currently, 40 students take this modality, and he appreciated the effort they make when combining studies and work: “They want to learn and join the staff.”
This center began betting on Dual FP in the 2011/12 academic year, and since then the number of participating companies has been increasing, mainly because “they are aware that the search for talent helps them find a good profile.” In this sense, he advocated “making it easy”, especially for SMEs, given that they do not have the same human and material resources as large companies.
The corporate director of Mecánicas Bolea, Tomás Martínez, claimed the “extraordinary exit” from the FP, as reflected in the volume of hiring in the metal sector, and related it to the specialization of the students. Precisely, this company has a Workshop School where it gives training certificates of 800 hours and “each promotion is placed”, he added.
National pioneer
Repsol was the first company in its sector, both regionally and nationally, to take advantage of Dual FP. And it did so in Cartagena, becoming a guide and an example for the rest of the multinational’s own industrial complexes, said Laura Rodríguez, head of Planning, Organization and Services of the factory. To date, it has already welcomed five promotions from Industrial Chemistry and three from Analysis and Quality Control Laboratory, which add up to almost a hundred apprentices and an insertion rate of 70%. “The student applies and we select, so we can size the candidates,” Rodríguez mentioned as an advantage of this modality.
For his part, Juan Antonio Ayala, Head of Quality at Metalmecánicas Herjimar, told how they remedy the challenge of placing an apprentice in a position that requires high qualification. The company has developed its own internal training plan and internships that, together with specific and weekly training, contributes to equip the future operator with the knowledge and techniques necessary to carry out their work.
From the origin
In Germany Dual FP is a success. So much so that German automotive brands invite their dealerships to participate in these training programs. This is the case of Grupo Huertas, which is committed to recruiting trainees from this modality as a guarantee that students comply, from the beginning, with the orders imposed by the firms themselves, since “they increasingly require worker certification at the time of incorporating it “, assured Luis Herranz, director of Human Resources of the company.
Lastly, Alfonso Pérez, head of Training and Continuous Improvement at Sabic in Cartagena, acknowledged that “we try to make the disembarkation of FP Dual students be progressive”: “Our model consists of integrating them into work shifts, and each student is He assigns him a mentor who accompanies him at all times and is also supervised by the shift manager and a technical reference ». “We have a long history of supporting this modality (since 2017/18), which provides benefits to us and to the students,” he summarized.
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