The second traineeship under the "Agir Agricultura" programme, now exclusively directed to the area of horticulture, started today at Capelas Vocational Training School on the island of São Miguel.

Developed under the Professional Reconversion Traineeship Programme, this initiative is promoted by the Government of the Azores, through the Vice-Presidency. It follows the traineeship on cattle breeding that was recently concluded by twenty participants.

The Professional Reconversion Traineeship Programme aims to provide participants with an opportunity to acquire new skills in new areas of activity and to undertake an internship in a working environment, thus creating new opportunities for their professional integration.

With a duration of six months, this traineeship this traineeship programme comprises a two-month specific training component, followed by a four-month training component in a real work context.

The traineeship that has now begun is intended to retrain 23 unemployed youngsters to the area of horticulture. Participants live nearby the farms that have accepted to be partners of the Regional Directorate for Employment and Vocational Training in this innovative process created to provide specialised training in the horticultural sector.

The specific training component, taught by Capelas Vocational Training School, will cover relevant areas: "Sowing, Planting and Consociation," "Composting and Soil Improvement," "Plant Protection and Distribution of Fertilisers, Sowing and Planting," "Application of Plant Health Products" and "Integrated Control of Rodents."

At the end of the traineeship, participants will also become certified Applicators of Plant Health Products and Authorised Operators in a rodent control plan, which could be an additional asset to this sector.

Besides the area of agriculture ("Agir Agricultura"), in its various aspects, the Professional Reconversion Traineeship Programme also covers the industry sector ("Agir Indústria"). Currently, the Regional Directorate for Employment and Vocational Training is establishing contacts with the aim of extending this initiative to other areas.

The Professional Reconversion Traineeship Programme is one of the sixty measures that make up the Azorean Agenda for Employment Creation and Business Competitiveness.