The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa and the Esprinet Group has presented the 3rd VET Knowledge Transfer Awards on 27th of June at the Esprinet Group headquarters in Madrid. An event in which the IES Alonso Quijano de Quintanar de la Orden (Toledo), the IES Clara del Rey (Madrid) and Campus Cámara FP (Valencia) have collected their respective awards of the III edition of the contest.

Representing FPEmpresa was the vice-president of the Association, Tomás Alonso, who expressed his gratitude to all the winners for their dedication to the competition and, especially, to the Esprinet Group for its collaboration.

‘These awards reflect our firm intention to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoting inclusive and equitable education for all. Undoubtedly, initiatives like this encourage us to continue advancing and strengthening our commitment to VET, especially in those areas where female participation is still limited,’ said Tomás Alonso.

‘With these awards, we at the Esprinet Group reaffirm our commitment to promoting key skills and abilities to train the professionals of the future. In particular, by giving visibility to female talent in those vocational training professional families where their presence is testimonial’, says Hugo Fernández, CEO of V-Valley Spain, part of the Esprinet Group.

An award that promotes key skills to train competitive professionals

The winning schools thanked the organisers for all the work they had done and, to conclude the meeting, they were given a guided tour of the Esprinet Group’s facilities. During the visit, they got to know each of the departments of the entity and the different work spaces of the employees.

‘I would like to thank both FPEmpresa and the Esprinet Group for promoting vocational training. For us it has been a double satisfaction. On the one hand, I have never seen my students so motivated and excited. On the other hand, we have managed to make the presence of women visible in traditionally male sectors. We must continue to fight for women to feel that they can work wherever they want’, said Mercedes Pedraza, a teacher at IES Alonso Quijano.

‘For our part, receiving this award that recognises our commitment to gender equality in professional families traditionally dominated by men fills us with pride. This award validates our efforts to create an inclusive and equitable environment for all our students’, said Luz Susana Canelo, head of the project at IES Clara del Rey.

For its part, Campus Cámara FP thanked both entities for giving them the opportunity to be part of the project. ‘This type of activity perfectly complements our training processes in vocational training centres. They allow us to work on innovation, to commit to tasks in addition to our studies and to set challenges that motivate us to empathise with other people and their realities’, said Enrique González, head of vocational training studies at Campus Cámara FP.

‘In addition, it is very positive to work on projects aimed at cycles with less female representation, generating visibility and models for future students. If you get a prize because the project stands out, perfect; but just participating is very beneficial and useful for the students’, added González.

FPEmpresa and Grupo Esprinet

The VET Knowledge Transfer Awards are the result of the collaboration between FPEmpresa and the Esprinet Group signed in 2021 to make female talent visible in those professional families of VET where the presence of women is testimonial.

After the success of the 2nd edition in 2023, both entities have renewed the collaboration agreement to launch the 3rd edition of the competition, which has attracted 248 participants and a total of 44 challenges presented.

The Association of Vocational Training Centres FPEmpresa and Esprinet Group have delivered this June of 29th the II Awards for Knowledge Transfer in VET at the headquarters of Esprinet Group in Madrid. An event in which IES Javier García Téllez, IES Federica Montseny and IES Lázaro Cárdenas have collected their respective awards of the II Edition of the contest.

Representing FPEmpresa was the vice-president-treasurer of the Association, Tomás Alonso, who congratulated the participants and thanked the Esprinet Group for its collaboration.

“Initiatives of this kind help us to continue growing and to improve our commitment to vocational training, especially for those qualifications where the presence of women is scarce”, said Tomás Alonso.

Also among the attendees were Javier Bilbao-Goyoaga, president of V-Valley Advanced Solutions; Begoña Huerta, HR and Quality Director at V-Valley Advanced Solutions; Silvia Sánchez, head of Marketing and Communication at the Esprinet Group, among others.

“I congratulate you for your hard work in getting this far and for visiting us on this special occasion. We are very happy to collaborate with FPEmpresa to launch initiatives like this, as it is very important, together with young people, to improve the quality of technological education and their preparation for the labour market”, said Bilbao-Goyoaga.

A recognition that helps to develop their professional skills

The winning schools thanked the organisers for all the work they have done. For her part, Marta Barroso, teacher and head of the ‘LlezzHands’ project, which won first prize, said that “this honour is a recognition, above all, for the students. In technology degrees it is difficult to find a greater number of female students, so I am grateful for the commitment and effort of my students”.

At the end of the meeting, all the attendees were able to visit the new facilities of the Esprinet Group, where they were able to see each of the departments of the entity, as well as the different work spaces that the employees have.

Collaboration between FPEmpresa and Esprinet Group

The VET Knowledge Transfer Awards are the result of the collaboration between FPEmpresa and the Esprinet Group signed in 2021 to make female talent visible in those professional families of VET where the presence of women is testimonial.

After the success of the first edition in 2022 with 300 participants, both entities have renewed the collaboration agreement to launch the second edition of the competition, which has attracted more than 450 participants and a total of 78 initiatives.

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.

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.