FPEmpresa announces the new members of the Permanent Board at the Ordinary General Assembly 2023
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FPEmpresa announces the new members of the Permanent Board at the Ordinary General Assembly 2023

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa organised the Ordinary General Assembly 2023 this Thursday, 15 June, at the Ilunion facilities in Madrid. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, so that members were able to attend in person and follow it via streaming. The Association’s Permanent Secretary thanked those present and the 90 people who followed the event online for their attendance.

The Assembly was opened by Joaquín Leizaola, General Manager of Ilunion Formación, who expressed his gratitude for hosting this event. “We are very grateful to be part of FPEmpresa and, of course, we are delighted to introduce you to Ilunion, a special entity that belongs to the ONCE social group, and where we also present our honours to VET”, said Leizaola.

New additions to the Permanent Board

After watching the corporate video of Ilunion, the president of FPEmpresa, Luis García, intervened to start the Extraordinary Assembly where the modifications of the statutes were contemplated and gave way to the respective votes. “Today we have more than 560 centres associated to FPEmpresa, which means an increase in the demands on FPEmpresa and that it has the task of continuing to improve. This is why we have decided to increase the number of members of the Permanent Board, proposing 2 vice-secretaries”, said Luis.

In this way, Luis Jesús, FPEmpresa’s coordinating member in Andalusia, and María José Fernández, the Association’s coordinating member in Asturias, will become the new members of the Permanent Board, giving support as vice-secretaries.

Following the vote at the Extraordinary Assembly, the members voted in favour, which led to the approval of the proposed changes. At the Ordinary Assembly, the secretary of FPEmpresa, Sergio San Martín, presented and explained every detail of the FPEmpresa Activities Report. This report is a document that allows the members of FPEmpresa to know in depth all the activities carried out by the Association.

Likewise, the presentation of activities shows a constant increase in the number of initiatives in which FPEmpresa is present, highlighting among all of them the close collaboration with CaixaBank Dualiza. Together with its strategic ally, several key actions have been carried out, such as the VET Congress, the Dualiza Call, the Active Guidance Call and the EmpleaFP job bank.

Likewise, the activities document shows the Association’s constant commitment to internationalisation, joining different associations and international projects in order to share and extend its objectives and fundamental values.

FPEcompany committed to the SDGs

Afterwards, the Assembly continued with the explanation of the new Strategic Plan 2022-2025, the Closing 2022, the Budget 2023, the Congress document and the Action Plan 2023/2024. During the presentation of the action plan, Sergio San Martín explained the objectives and actions that FPEmpresa will carry out in order to continue to become the benchmark VET Association. Among them, FPEmpresa’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) stands out. “We must ask ourselves how we want our activities to impact the SDGs. Obviously, we must continue to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs, so we have identified 8 goals that will be related to each of our strategic lines,” said the secretary of the Association.

Likewise, FPEmpresa will continue to work to be the meeting point for all VET actors and to become a reference for companies and public institutions, in order to promote projects that provide added value. Furthermore, the aim is to promote the culture of innovation through agreements with technological entities. Finally, the focus will be on STEAM-related initiatives.

To conclude the event, the Permanent Board announced the approval of all the documents and proposals of the Ordinary Assembly.

FPEmpresa attends Cedefop and OECD meeting on ‘Apprentices and the Digital Transition 2023’
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FPEmpresa attends Cedefop and OECD meeting on ‘Apprentices and the Digital Transition 2023’

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa attended on 15 and 16 June the meeting on ‘Learning and Digital Transition’ in Thessaloniki (Greece) organised by Cedefop and OECD. Carlos de Olagüe, EfVET’s representative in Spain, participated as a speaker on behalf of the Association. The event brought together policy makers, social partners, practitioners and researchers from different countries to explore the links between apprenticeships and the digital transition, as well as their implications for policy making.

The agenda of the event covered topics such as: the demand for digital skills, digital tools for schools and businesses, as well as learning about international policy and practice.

Digitalisation as a new form of learning

Carlos de Olagüe, together with other European figures, took part in the presentation on the ‘Perspectives of the protagonists regarding digitalisation’ to discuss the role of learning in the digital transition and the challenges and opportunities that this entails for VET centres.

Olagüe said that digitalisation applied in educational centres in Spain is working very well. “We have the case of Iberdrola’s Digital Community, which is available to all FPEmpresa members”, stressed the EfVET representative in Spain.

Likewise, the FPEmpresa’s international coordinator highlighted the functioning of the Immersive Classroom of IES Luis Vives (Madrid), as well as the Association’s collaboration with IndesIA. “This agreement with IndesIA allows companies, such as Microsoft, to transfer their experience with Artificial Intelligence to vocational training centres”, he said.

“It is undoubtedly very important to attend meetings of this nature, especially for FPEmpresa. It is a great opportunity to transmit all the activity of the Association, as well as to show the work that is being done for VET in Spain”, concluded FPEmpresa’s Madrid and international coordinator.

FPEmpresa celebrates the 10th anniversary of EAfA in Brussels
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FPEmpresa celebrates the 10th anniversary of EAfA in Brussels

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa has attended on 26th and 27th June the event ‘High Level European Alliance for Apprenticeship’ in Brussels (Belgium) organised by the European Alliance for Apprenticeship Training (EAfA), a body that belongs to the European Commission and of which FPEmpresa is a member.

FPEmpresa was represented by Carlos de Olagüe, the Member Coordinator for Madrid and International, who also represents EfVET in Spain. This meeting, which could also be followed online, aimed to bring together all EAfA members to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Alliance, which was launched in 2013 and currently unites 39 countries across Europe.

“These types of events are not only interesting, but also help us to learn and improve every day. Undoubtedly, all the issues that have been addressed in this meeting are essential to continue promoting VET beyond our borders”, said Carlos de Olagüe.

Likewise, this meeting has promoted and strengthened apprenticeships as a key to provide skills linked to the needs of companies, as well as providing employment-oriented skills for young people and adults.

Apprenticeships as a means to ensure skilled employees

The agenda of the event covered topics such as: the quality and effectiveness of VET in Europe, the importance of apprenticeships for skilled employees, apprentices as agents for a sustainable future, among other issues.

Finally, EAfA members have promoted an additional meeting called ‘Get Together’ in the afternoon of 27 June. The aim of this event was to give Alliance partners the opportunity to network, explore opportunities for cooperation and share best practices with each other.

FPEmpresa, member of the EAfA since 2021

The EAfA was created with the aim of strengthening the quality, supply and image of apprenticeship training in Europe, and to encourage mobility of apprentices. The achievement of these two objectives is therefore promoted through national and voluntary commitments.

To improve the quality of apprenticeships in VET, FPEmpresa becomes one of the members of EAfA in 2021. Since then, the Association has actively participated in its events, such as The voice of apprentices in the European Year of Youth 2022, held in Barcelona, and now with the 10th anniversary of the EAfA.

The 2nd edition of the VET Knowledge Transfer Awards reveals the most innovative ideas for achieving STEAM skills development and SDGs
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The 2nd edition of the VET Knowledge Transfer Awards reveals the most innovative ideas for achieving STEAM skills development and SDGs

The 2nd edition of the VET Knowledge Transfer Awards of the Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa and Esprinet Group announces the 3 winning projects of the challenge. IES Javier García Téllez (Cáceres), IES Federica Montseny (Valencia) and IES Lázaro Cárdenas (Madrid) have won the first three prizes, valued at 12,000 euros, which will go to the centres, teachers and students.

A total of 78 teams have participated in this challenge, whose main objective is focused on developing STEAM skills, as well as raising awareness and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this way, the participants have recreated problem scenarios and devised a technological solution that contributes to achieving at least one of the SDGs and also promotes gender equality, which corresponds to SDG 5.

In addition, more than 450 people from the Region of Murcia, Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, the Basque Country, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Valencia, Extremadura, Madrid, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and the Principality of Asturias have joined this competition with the aim of developing among VET students key skills and abilities to train competitive professionals, as well as learning technical skills.

Evaluation Criteria

With regard to the evaluation criteria of the 78 participants, the jury took into account the capacity for critical thinking to question different approaches in the search for the best solution; the improvement of technical skills in areas related to the participating professional families and, finally, the innovative spirit, proactivity and teamwork as essential values to help in the constant improvement of products and services of the companies.

Among the winning projects, the following professional families stand out: Electricity and Electronics, Chemistry, Environmental Health and IT and Communications. However, other professional families also participated in the competition, such as Safety and Environment, Transport and Vehicle Maintenance (TMV), Energy and Water, Agriculture, Mechanical Manufacturing and Installation and Maintenance.

In addition, another feature that has proved to be fundamental in this second edition is the 47 female teachers who have been coordinators of the projects presented. In this way, the aim of making female talent visible in those professional families where its presence is testimonial is achieved.

Winners of the 2nd edition

IES Javier García Téllez (Secondary School) in Cáceres has won the first prize with its project “LlezzHands”, led by the teacher Marta Barroso Rodríguez together with the students of the Higher Degree in Electrotechnical and Automated Systems. This initiative focuses on a village in Cambodia where more than half of the population are women and minors. However, one of the main problems of the population is landmines, which cause deaths and amputations. Therefore, the project aims to develop mobile prostheses for all inhabitants of Cambodia. It will be made using 3D printers and organic materials, such as PLA, which comes from potato and corn starch.

The second prize went to IES Federica Montseny in Valencia with its project “GoodalTech”, a proposal led by teacher Elisa Adell Sales and the 1st year Chemistry and Environmental Health group. The aim of this project is to improve the labour inclusion of women in the STEAM area.

Finally, the IES Lázaro Cárdenas Secondary School in Madrid came in third place with its project “Zeri (Seed)”, led by teacher Carolina Sobrón San Martín and the 2nd year students of the Higher Degree in Multiplatform Applications Development. This idea focuses on “planting” a seed of equality and prosperity in villages in underdeveloped countries and, therefore, eliminating the gender gap in access to technology.

To see all the projects in this edition, you can do so by clicking here.

PRALINE meets in Helsinki to learn about Finnish VET and its new education reform
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PRALINE meets in Helsinki to learn about Finnish VET and its new education reform

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa has participated in the seventh PLA (Peer Learning Activity) of the European project PRALINE (Promoting Adult Learning in Networks) that has been held on 22nd and 23rd May in Helsinki (Finland). On this occasion, the AMKE organisation was in charge of organising the conference, which was held at the Taitotalo educational centre.

The conference focused on the educational system of the Finnish country, as well as the functioning of Vocational Training. The different speakers explained the different training options available to students, as well as the possibility of personalising their study itineraries.

In addition, the theme of VET as a solution to unemployment was addressed, with Annukka Jamisto, Director of Services and Adwoa Brewun, Business Coordinator at Omnia, explaining possible solutions to help immigrants in the country to train and get a job.

Among the participants who also shared their perspectives on the Finnish education system and the commitment to work-based learning were Marika Koski, teacher at Sataedu; Matti Isokallio, Director of the Education and Training Consortium at Sataedu; Minna Sandberg, International Coordinator at Spesia, a special VET institution; Saara Ikkelä, Senior Specialist at the Ministry of Education and Culture and Keijo Honkonen, Deputy Director of the Taitotalo Centre.

One of the main themes of the conference was to continue to work on the fact that young people and adults can learn together, as half of the VET students are between 20 and 60 years old. In this way, both age groups can complement each other in terms of knowledge and professional and personal experience.

After having concluded the presentation of the days, as it was done in the six previous ALMPs, the PRALINE partners have met to explain their points of view and to motivate a debate to find new ideas on the subject among them.

Finally, the European partners will meet at the eighth ALMP in Croatia next October and will be organised by the Hrvatsko Andragosko Drustvo (HAD) association.

PRALINE is an Erasmus+ funded project that aims to strengthen and boost international networks of adult education providers already in operation by learning about good practice.

More than half a thousand VET teachers promote the new collaboration between schools and companies at the 9th FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza Congress
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More than half a thousand VET teachers promote the new collaboration between schools and companies at the 9th FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza Congress

More than 550 teachers discussed the new collaboration between VET centres and companies that will take place after the implementation of the VET Law at the 9th FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza VET Congress. Under the slogan “Working together. The new role of the company in VET” and during the 4th and 5th of May, the Cidade da Cultura de Galicia in Santiago de Compostela hosted the debates related to the challenges that society will face for the adequate development of the new regulations, the role that business and trade union organisations will develop to facilitate the training commitment of the company and the relationship with the centres, and the role of the company tutor in dual training.

The Regional Minister of Culture, Education and Universities of the Xunta de Galicia, Román Rodríguez, stressed that companies will have “to trust even more in vocational training” with the introduction of the new law that dualises all new training, despite the fact that a large part of the work has already been done. As he pointed out, “companies rely on vocational training to find professional resources to expand their workforces”, as reflected in the data: “85% of students who take vocational training in Galicia are placed immediately, and if we are talking about dual training, the percentage is 100%”.

Among the companies that took part in the Congress were Iberdrola, Nestlé España and Grupo Pescanova, which underlined the responsibility that companies are taking on with the new regulations.

Silvia Carballo, from HR at Nestlé España, pointed out that this new regulation poses to the company “whether you want to be a mere spectator or integrate me from the beginning, that we all start hand in hand with a common objective to provide the best profiles, which adapt to the needs we have”.

For Patricia Rodríguez, from the Grupo Pescanova, the new law is an opportunity to increase collaboration with educational centres and to continue improving.

New success in participation

The organisers FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza, in collaboration with the Xunta de Galicia and the participation of Fundación Orange, have celebrated the good reception of the congress, which each year brings together more than half a thousand attendees from all over Spain.

The president of FPEmpresa, Luis García Domínguez, gave a positive assessment of the results of the event and recalled that “the 9th VET Congress was intended to focus on the new role of the company in the regulatory framework of the new VET Law”.

In this way, García stated that “the reflections that have taken place at this meeting have helped us to determine which are the critical elements for improving the system. One of them is related to improving orientation towards vocational training and the desire to find ways or places for companies and centres to meet”.

The director of CaixaBank Dualiza, Paula San Luis, expressed her satisfaction with the smooth running of the congress, which has already become a benchmark for VET professionals and is a meeting point for teachers, but also a stage for the main educational vanguards, and a bridge to companies, which are increasingly represented in this forum”.

This success is the result, said San Luis, “of the efforts of teachers from all over Spain, of our ally FPEmpresa, without whom this would not be possible, and of the Xunta and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, which not only facilitate but also support each of the actions initiated by CaixaBank Dualiza for the prestige of vocational training”.

9th VET Congress, a meeting point for VET centres, companies and business organisations

More than 20 speakers from different sectors, from academia to business, took part in the congress, with the aim of highlighting the value of leading companies in vocational training and the creation of tools that provide knowledge to educational centres and national and international students. Among the various speakers were Román Rodríguez, Regional Minister of Culture, Education, Vocational Training and Universities of the Xunta de Galicia; Eugenia Pérez, Director General of Vocational Training of the Xunta de Galicia; Ángeles Cárdaba, Advisor to the Office of the Secretary of Vocational Training; Mónica Moso, head of the CaixaBank Dualiza VET Knowledge and Innovation Centre; and, finally, companies such as Iberdrola, with the head of Training at Iberdrola Spain, Roberto Mediavilla; IndesIA, with the expert in the GCTio area of Telefónica, Daniel Guzmán, Grupo Pescanova, Nestlé España, among others.

FPEmpresa also presented the awards for the 6th Call for Dualiza Grants and the 3rd edition of the FPEmpresa Awards, with Juan Carlos Lauder, former director of CaixaBank Dualiza, being recognised in the category of Vocational Training Career Award; and Javier Olleros in the category of the Award for the Company committed to Vocational Training.

Also, within the framework of this congress, several visits were made to VET centres in Galicia, such as CIFP Compostela, CIFP Politécnico de Santiago, CIFP Someso, CIFP de Imaxe y Son, CIFP Paseo das Pontes, CIFP Universidade Laboral Culleredo, CIFP Ánxel Casal-Monte Alto and CGIFP Eduardo Barreiros.

The Congress has been broadcasted live through the official YouTube channels of FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza and can be viewed again in the following links:

If you wish to consult the programme of the 9th VET Congress, click here.

FPEmpresa and Esprinet Group launch the II Edition of the VET Knowledge Transfer Awards
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FPEmpresa and Esprinet Group launch the II Edition of the VET Knowledge Transfer Awards

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa and the Esprinet Group are launching the 2nd edition of the Knowledge Transfer Awards in the field of VET with the aim of making female talent visible in those vocational training professional families where the presence of women is testimonial.

This call is aimed at any public, subsidised or private educational centre that is associated with FPEmpresa.

After the success of its first edition in 2022 with 300 participants, FPEmpresa and the Esprinet Group have decided to renew the collaboration agreement this February and thus launch the second edition to promote female talent in vocational training cycles where there is a low representation of women.

Likewise, among the objectives of this call is the desire to develop key skills and abilities among VET students in order to train competitive professionals, as well as the learning of technical skills.

As in the first edition, this initiative is committed to the 2030 Agenda which, through the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, aims to move towards societies with inclusive economic growth, greater cohesion and social justice, in peace and with a sustainable environmental horizon.

In this way, the participants in this call propose to devise a technological solution that contributes to achieving at least one of the SDGs and also promotes gender equality, which corresponds to SDG 5.

Finally, the three winners of the challenge will be awarded a prize of 5,500, 4,000 and 2,500 euros, respectively. Full details of the challenge will be announced on 8 March in an online session. The winning teams will be announced on 25 May 2023.

FPEmpresa

Since its constitution in 2012, FPEmpresa is a non-profit association that brings together public, private and subsidised Vocational Training Centres from all over Spain. In the same line, it contributes to create a network of centres able to share experiences, projects that want to develop and enhance the Vocational Training System of this country.

FPEmpresa aims to give prominence to Vocational Training in the education system and to strengthen relations between the centres and their environment. The commitment between Vocational Training Centres and companies makes it possible to improve the educational offer for vocational training students and the pathways to integration into the labour market.

In 2019, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training awarded the Plaque of Honour of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise to the Association for promoting VET through collaboration between centres, the exchange of experiences and good practices.

Esprinet

Esprinet is an enabler of the technological ecosystem that, with a strong commitment to environmental and social sustainability, promotes technological democracy. With a comprehensive offering of consulting services, IT security, services and products for sale or rental through an extensive network of professional resellers, Esprinet is the leading Group in Southern Europe (Italy, Spain and Portugal), the fourth largest in Europe and among the top ten worldwide. With more than 1800 employees and ¤4.7 billion in sales in 2022, Esprinet (PRT:IM – ISIN IT0003850929) is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange.

FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza organise the 9th Vocational Training Congress focused on the new role of companies in vocational training
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FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza organise the 9th Vocational Training Congress focused on the new role of companies in vocational training

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa and CaixaBank Dualiza are organising the 9th VET Congress under the slogan ‘Working together. The new role of business in VET’. The Congress will be held on 4 and 5 May at the Cidade da Cultura de Galicia in Santiago de Compostela. In addition, the event has the collaboration of the Xunta de Galicia and the sponsorship of the Fundación Orange.

With the new VET law, which will be implemented in 2024, all training will be dual, which will lead to students spending more hours training in companies. The productive sectors will be able to acquire a new commitment to collaboration with vocational training and learning outcomes. For this reason, this new edition aims to become the meeting point for VET centres, companies and business organisations to highlight the new collaboration that will take place between centres and companies.

The president of FPEmpresa, Luis García, assures that this Congress “has the challenge of joining forces between companies and centres to promote vocational training. With the new VET Law, VET centres need companies to help them to increase the number of hours in training positions and to take co-responsibility for the learning outcomes of students. Therefore, this Congress aims to become a great space for reflection and collaboration”.

For her part, the Director of CaixaBank Dualiza, Paula San Luis, expressed her confidence that the congress “will once again become one of the main forums in our country to bring together VET teachers and provide them with a space to learn about experiences, exchange opinions and establish alliances that will allow Vocational Training to continue to advance. In this endeavour, teachers will continue to have the firm support of CaixaBank Dualiza”.

In addition, San Luis said that “the success of previous editions among the educational community will be repeated this year, with the added bonus that more and more companies will participate in the event, facilitating the relationship between the different realities of our VET, which is the main objective with which Dualiza was born and continues to work.

A student body that is better trained and prepared for their future employment

After the inauguration and the institutional presentation, the presentations will include the Secretary General of Vocational Training, Clara Sanz; the Director General of Vocational Training of the Xunta de Galicia, Eugenia Pérez; and the Director of Education and Training at CEOE, Juan Carlos Tejeda, to address key issues on the role of business in vocational training.

There will also be a block of research presentations with the participation of entities such as the Dualiza Observatory, Orkestra, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), among others, and there will be visits to educational centres in Galicia, such as CIFP Compostela, CIFP Politécnico de Santiago, CIFP Someso, CIFP de Imaxe y Son, CIFP Paseo das Pontes, CIFP Universidade Laboral Culleredo, CIFP Ánxel Casal-Monte Alto and CGIFP Eduardo Barreiros.

The IX VET Congress will address and discuss issues such as the role of the company tutor in dual training. Also, aspects such as the role that business and trade union organisations will play in the daily life of the centres through the social councils or how we can generate an innovation model for SMEs with the collaboration of the VET centres.

Anyone interested in Vocational Education and Training can participate by registering at the following link.

For more information about the congress or more details about the programme, please click here.

FPEmpresa and Esprinet Group renew agreement to reward the best proposals for knowledge transfer in VET
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FPEmpresa and Esprinet Group renew agreement to reward the best proposals for knowledge transfer in VET

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa, which currently represents more than 500 VET centres in Spain, and the Esprinet Group have renewed for the second consecutive year their collaboration agreement to carry out necessary actions in the field of VET.

This agreement was made for the first time in February 2022 and this year it returns with the aim of rewarding the best proposals for knowledge transfer in VET. In addition, among its objectives is the desire to promote female talent in training cycles where they have little visibility.

The president of FPEmpresa, Luis García Domínguez, states that “for the Association, renewing this collaboration agreement means maintaining our commitment that means that vocational training centres are allied with companies in our productive sectors. Likewise, this initiative allows us to continue our commitment to talent in all areas of VET expressed by women”.

Since FPEmpresa was created in 2012, it has been working to promote and foster vocational training through the exchange of experiences and good practices. In this way, the Association aims to become one of the agents that strengthen the VET system in the country.

“With the renewal of this agreement we reaffirm our commitment to promote key skills and abilities to train the professionals of the future. In particular, by giving visibility to female talent in those professional families of VET where its presence is testimonial”, says Javier Bilbao-Goyoaga, president of V-Valley Advanced Solutions (Spain & Portugal).

Following the renewal of this collaboration agreement, FPEmpresa and the Esprinet Group are launching entries for the 2nd edition of the Knowledge Transfer Awards in the field of VET. This call for entries is aimed at any public, subsidised or private educational centre associated with FPEmpresa. The registration period will be open from 13 February until 24 February and can be registered through this link.

FPEmpresa

FPEmpresa is a non-profit association that brings together public, private and subsidised Vocational Training Centres from all over Spain. In the same line, it contributes to create a network of centres able to share experiences, projects that want to develop and promote the Vocational Training System of this country.

FPEmpresa aims to give prominence to Vocational Training in the education system and to strengthen relations between the centres and their environment. The commitment between Vocational Training Centres and companies makes it possible to improve the educational offer for vocational training students and the pathways to integration into the labour market.

In 2019, the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training awarded the Plaque of Honour of the Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise to the Association for promoting VET through collaboration between centres, the exchange of experiences and good practices.

Esprinet

Esprinet is an enabler of the technological ecosystem that, with a strong vocation for environmental and social sustainability, promotes technological democracy. With a

comprehensive offering of consulting services, IT security, services and products for sale or rental through an extensive network of professional resellers, Esprinet is the leading Group in Southern Europe (Italy, Spain and Portugal), the fourth largest in Europe and among the top ten worldwide.

FPEmpresa attends the gala of the first STEAM Alliance Awards for female talent
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FPEmpresa attends the gala of the first STEAM Alliance Awards for female talent

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa attended the ceremony of the first STEAM Alliance Awards on 11th of february, coinciding with the commemoration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Representing FPEmpresa was Tomás Alonso, vice-president of the Association.

The gala has been held in Castelló (Valencia), in collaboration with the Castelló City Council and was attended by the Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Pilar Alegría, the Minister of Science and Innovation, Diana Morant and the biotechnologist and astronaut, Sara García Alonso.

The STEAM Alliance, of which FPEmpresa is a member, is an educational project by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to value and promote the vocations of girls and young women in disciplines related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Thus, one of the fundamental objectives of the project is to reward the projects of the educational centres that strive to make female talent visible in the aforementioned fields.

“The Association belongs to this alliance in order to reduce the gender gap in STEAM education. All actions should be aimed at this reduction, starting from primary education to make the youngest girls aware that they can be capable of doing everything they set their minds to”, said Tomás Alonso, vice-president of FPEmpresa.

“From FPEmpresa, we congratulate all the VET centres that have been awarded in the categories of Intermediate and Higher Grade. It has been a pleasure to attend this ceremony to share this great experience, where the biotechnologist and astronaut, Sara García, also attended to emphasise that what she likes most is helping people”, added Alonso.

Bonanova Vocational Training Institute, the first winner of the STEAM Alliance

The awards are divided into five categories: Pre-school and Primary Education; Secondary Education and Baccalaureate; Intermediate Vocational Training; Advanced Vocational Training; and entities and organisations. The first prizes are endowed with 5,000 euros each, the second prizes with 3,000 euros and the third prizes with 2,000 euros. All the awards were presented by the Minister of Education and Vocational Training and the Minister of Science and Innovation.

Thus, the Bonanova Institute, a centre associated with the Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa, won the first prize in the category of Advanced Vocational Training for the project ‘Promotion of female talent and vocation for STEAM from vocational training in health and biosciences’.

The main objective of the project is to make the scientific-technological and research professions more visible to primary, secondary and high school students, focusing on girls and young women who are studying these subjects in order to bring them closer to the STEAM field.

To this end, the Bonanova Institute devises various activities that can be carried out jointly to promote STEAM studies among girls and young women, from the perspective of a vocational training centre specialising in the field of health and biosciences, showing not only the academic itineraries but also the associated future professions.