Near seven thousand youngsters will attend the 2009 Forum on Jobs, which will start in Ponta Delgada on São Miguel Island today.
The event that will take place until tomorrow at the Pavilhão do Mar intents to promote among the students of the regular, vocational training and new technology curricula the vocational training offers for 2009/2010 in the Azores, comprising 217 courses in 64 areas, with 2,540 vacancies available.
According to what was highlighted by the European Commission, these courses, which are financed by operational programme for the employment and the qualification of the Azoreans – Pro-Emprego, were approved on the basis of an analysis regarding the needs of the business sector and the behaviour of the labour market. This analysis was undertaken by the Azorean Observatory for Employment and Vocational Training, which is the only entity doing it in Europe.
Under the Pro-Emprego programme, more than 65 million Euros were approved for the different components of the programme, such as, initial vocational training, adult training, training of weakened public and double certification, entrepreneurship training and IT training.
At the opening of the Forum, the Regional Director for Labour, Professional Qualification and Consumer Defence emphasised the importance of the event, for it allows “Azorean youngsters to become better informed on the vocational training offer in the Azores.”
With the organisation of this event, which has already been held on the “Triangle Islands” (Pico, Faial and São Jorge) and on Terceira, “the Government accomplishes one of the goals of its programme, which intends to provide a great variety of training offers as well as of job opportunities to the Azorean youngsters,” stressed Rui Bettencourt.
Furthermore, the forum also includes animation which will be organised by the different vocational training schools of the Region.
One must recall that the Regional Secretary for Labour and Social Solidarity has recently challenged the Azorean vocational training schools to collaborate with the Government of the Azores, so that 70 thousand workers may undergo vocational training, thereby contributing for the creation of wealth and for job valorisation.