The Government of the Azores continues to promote the training of more professionals and the certification of those who “have already been integrated in the labour market,” considering these measures as essential to the development of the Region.
These statements were made by the Regional Director for Labour, Vocational Training and Consumer Defence who spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2009/2010 Forum on Jobs, which takes place in Praia da Vitória today and tomorrow.
Rui Bettencourt added that the Region needs to train another 70 thousand professionals, while implementing mechanisms of professional certification of workers from various sectors, providing them “a better income and a greater acknowledgment in the labour market.”
The Regional Director announced that 20% of the current work force obtained their professional qualification through vocational training. This percentage should rise to 25% within two years and to 45% in a decade.
Rui Bettencourt recognised the fundamental role played by vocational training schools in the process of vocational training and guidance which has been observed over the last 12 years, increasing the number of these educational establishments from “two or three to the 18 that exist at the present moment” and providing a variety of training courses “with high employability.”
The Regional Director also mentioned the work that was carried out by the Labour Observatory, mainly in terms of the research among companies of the areas where more collaborators will be needed, thereby enabling the adjustment of the courses offered to the actual needs of the labour market.
Furthermore, Rui Bettencourt stressed the important role played by tutors at schools, since they establish the connection between the students’ training options and companies’ needs in terms of labour.