Making the Azores into one of the regions with more qualifications of Europe in 2020 is one of the main purposes of the Government of the Azores, which considers being “one of the necessary conditions for our development.”

The announcement was made Regional Director of Labour, Vocational Training and Consumer Defence, on behalf of the President of the Government, during the opening session of the symposium on “Education and Work: Dialogues and Practices in Context” that took place in Ponta Delgada on the island of San Miguel on Thursday.

The Regional Director also said that the importance of human resources in the development of the Azores should also take place in the Azorean organisations such as companies.

Moreover, Rui Bettencourt even considered that “taking employees into consideration is the first corporate social responsibility and that professional qualification is the best, safest and profitable investment.”

We have found that the companies that better cope with the present difficulties are the ones that have invested in the qualification of its human resources and the workers with better employability are the most qualified,” stressed the Regional Director.

According to Rui Bettencourt, the promotion of qualification is “fundamental” since it will “provide the Azores with skills and life projects, thus facilitating their entry in the labour market and providing companies with an enhanced viability.

In this context, he stressed the need for a further qualification of human resources in Azorean organisations.

The promotion of qualification, for the regional Director, will even “make a difference” comparing to other European regions.