A support office addressed at Azorean youngster will enter into operation in coming weeks in order to provide information on professional traineeships and the current situation of the labour market in the Azores. This is an initiative of the Government of the Azores in a partnership between the Academic Association of the University of the Azores.
The information was provided by the Regional Director for Labour, Vocational Training and Consumer Defence during the 1st Academic Forum on Employment and Professions, which he attended on behalf of the President of the Government. This event was organised by the Academic Association of the University of the Azores.
The support office will integrate three technicians from the Regional Directorate for Labour, Vocational Training and Consumer Defence (DRTQPDC) who will provide information on career opportunities and professional traineeships in the archipelago and in Europe, thus establishing a link with the Academic Association, stated Rui Bettencourt.
Nonetheless, any youngster may be informed about the career opportunities in the labour market as well as about the professional traineeships since the technicians from the DRTQPDC are already providing information on these subjects.
“Nowadays, we have technicians that are currently providing information on a traineeship programme, which is the “Estagiar U” – a programme which aims to encourage an early contact of university students with the Azorean business world with a one-month traineeship in a company. The application period for this traineeship programme are taking place in May. Moreover, we already have a team that is informing and registering youngsters in this programme,” stressed Rui Bettencourt.
For the Regional Director this is an “important” initiative if we take into account the current difficulties that our country and Europe are facing. Despite this scenario, Rui Bettencourt stated that qualified employment (graduate jobs) increased 8.5% while unqualified employment stood at 5.9%, which demonstrates that “even in a period of crisis and difficulty, training is always better than non-qualification.”
According to Rui Bettencourt, the idea is to “provide responses at three levels: career opportunities, informing about the courses with more career opportunities; professional traineeships, explaining how youngsters may do a traineeship in the Azores through the “Estagiar L” and “Estagiar U” programmes or in Europe with the Eurodyssey programme, and the reconversion of young graduates or broadband degrees.”