More than a million students are currently studying Professional training in Spainof which 178,000 do so in the Community of Madrid. An alternative to university education which is experiencing more success with students every day and an opportunity for the future that the Regional Executive wants to exploit with its new Law on Higher Education, Universities and Science.
A law that you defended this morning the Minister of Education, Science and Universities of the Community of Madrid, Emilio Vicianaduring an informative breakfast organized by OKDIARIO, under the title Vocational training as an educational model for the futurein which he explains that the standard not only seeks to adapt state legislation to the singularities and needs of the centers in the region, but also aims to give Professional Training “the place it deserves”.
“We want to unite higher education and bring together higher professional training, university and also science, because they cannot be waterproof compartments. In Europe and around the world, this link between university and professional training exists, it is real and it is developing. It’s a connection that will strengthen in the future. We cannot turn our back on it and it is something that we want to regulate and above all facilitate with this new law.“, explained Viciana, while recognizing that Vocational Training, at least in the Community of Madrid, “ceased to be the ugly duckling many years ago and is now the jewel in the crown of Education , it shines with its own light.
What businesses need
The Minister of Education assures that the black legend of vocational training is completely outdated, partly due to the enormous quality and quantity of qualifications available, but also due to the high employability in key sectors. “The Community of Madrid has always been a pioneer and model for the rest of Spain in terms of professional training. Actually, The professional training provided in the Community of Madrid has been imitated by other autonomous communities and, in recent times, even by the central government.. We currently cover almost 22 professional families, which is almost all of the existing families.
From an employment point of view, this has influenced: “we have diplomas reaching 77%/80% access to employment during the first year, and others like those of Chemistry and Water and Energywhich are among the most powerful and provide access to employment, almost 100%, and in record time“.
Central government obstacles
Likewise, the Minister of Education of the Community of Madrid regretted that the current regulations of the Central Government put obstacles in the way of professional training, “bad copy the Madrid model. To do this, he gave as an example the obligation to contribute to internships which is applied both in professional training and in universities. The call Scholarship Status assumed, in his opinion, “a very big obstacle” to professional training, the success of which, he assures, “rests on altruistic collaboration”. “that we have with companies that volunteer to welcome students for professional training internships.”
As a second example, Viciana also criticized the dual vocational training model which has been implemented in national regulations. “Before, students were trained in educational centers, they acquired the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies and then, at the workplace, they carried out the famous FCT (workplace training)”, however; noted, “with the model proposed by the central governmentfrom the first lesson, “Students start doing internships in companies, without having the necessary knowledge.”.
The figure of the mentor
The Community of Madrid is also a pioneer in a professional training mentoring program called Compass Professional Training Mentors. A fundamental program that began last year with 20 mentors distributed in 20 educational centers to meet all the needs and all the actors involved in professional training.
A program that increased this year with 10 mentors more, as Viciana confirms, and that it now has 30 distributed in the different educational centers, institutes and professional training centers, in which “they fulfill a role very important function because they guide not only students, but also companies and workers who already have professional training but are looking for a change of area or sector”, he concluded.
