Bank’s eleventh agreement with a regional government
Bankia and government of Navarra sign framework agreement to partner on developing FP Dual vocational education and internship programme
Bankia’s chairman, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, pledges “resources needed” to run programmes agreed with regional government to develop FP Dual
Navarra president, Uxue Barkos, highlights that “investing in education is one of the most effective ways of fuelling economic development and improving competitiveness”
Pamplona, 23/09/2016. Navarra president, Uxue Barkos, and Bankia’s chairman, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, signed a framework agreement at the Palace of Navarra this Friday to work together on developing professional training, especially the FP Dual vocational education and internship programme, in the chartered community.
The regional government and the bank will jointly define strategies looking, for example, at sectors that are on the up or future professional qualifications, as well as launching new projects.
These include rolling out FP Dual higher degree courses, raising awareness of the opportunities and usefulness of professional training in companies and business groups, promotion of training centre networking and support for innovation in companies. The agreement does not include any funding obligations because finance for each project will be arranged through subsequent specific agreements.
Nonetheless, after signing the agreement Bankia’s chairman announced that “the bank will provide the necessary funding to carry out the agreed programmes”. “It’s really important to provide the “resources needed to reengage young people with the labour market and train future generations to
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be able to better face the new challenges in the job market,” José Ignacio Goirigolzarri stressed.
The Navarra government and Bankia hope that today’s agreement will help expand the FP Dual programme, considering that, according to the OECD, two- thirds of employment growth between now and 2020 will fall in the technical job categories connected with the FP Dual programme.
Navarra faces the challenge of revamping its economic development model, set out in Navarra’s RIS3 Smart Specialisation Strategy, which defines the six key sectors for regional competitiveness to which public policies and funds should be directed between now and 2030. Another goal is to tackle youth unemployment of 43%, compared to an average of 13.27% according to second-quarter figures from the Working Population Survey (EPA IIT 16), with Navarra accounting for 18.7% of total unemployment.
“The FP Dual bridges the gap between academic education and the labour market because the model tailors training to business needs, which companies call for,” explained the president of Navarra. She commented that “high quality professional training” is a catalyst for “changing the competitive position; something our economy so clearly needs,” she stressed. “Investing in education is one of the most effective ways of fuelling economic development and improving competitiveness, and FP Dual is a true enabler of innovation,” Barkos went on.
In turn, Bankia’s aims include supporting education and collaborating in the progressive roll-out of the FP Dual programme. This effort has so far included signing agreements with 10 other autonomous communities: Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha, Castile-Leon, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia and La Rioja.
The bank is also a member of the Alliance for FP Dual and has championed the FP Dual higher degree in administration and finance in four FP Dual centres in Spain (two in Madrid and two in Valencia). It has also promoted a specialised foreign trade training programme, also in the Autonomous Community of Valencia, which will be rolled out across other autonomous communities in the near future.
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“By signing this agreement we aim to help define the strategies needed to expand the FP Dual programme, identifying growth sectors and the professional qualifications that will be most sought after in the future,” Goirigolzarri remarked.
Commitments
Bankia specifically agrees to provide the Navarra government with information on the experiences, activities and action, regulations and best practices in other autonomous communities and countries, and on businesses that could be interested in enhancing FP Dual.
It will also participate in designing and funding reports that help define the strategies to be followed to develop FP Dual in Navarra. It will nurture ties between education centres and businesses, and will support them in rolling out innovation projects, new business models and internationalisation processes.
Other action will include organising awareness-raising workshops, fostering the formation of networks between education centres and companies, and sponsoring investment rounds and offers of finance for start-ups and entrepreneurs who have come through the FP Dual programme. All centres running FP Dual courses and the technology and employment centres supporting these courses may benefit from the agreement.
The Navarra government, meanwhile, pledges to provide Bankia with information (on professional training centres, courses, regulations and curriculum amendments) and spaces to run activities; establish awards for achievement such as commendations and diplomas; provide supplies for awareness-raising material and publications; participate in the forthcoming FP Dual or Professional Training Strategic Plan; and work on projects to tailor training to the existing and future requirements of the service and productive sectors.
A mixed committee will be set up to oversee action deriving from the agreement, which will run until 31 December 2017 and may be rolled over on a yearly basis for up to two years.
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The FP Dual programme is a form of professional training where students combine their studies in an education centre with an internship in a company (33% of the curriculum). The objective of this formula is to prepare young people for work and boost companies’ involvement in training (providing information on the skills and job profiles they need), thereby boosting their competitiveness.
FP Dual is being implemented across Spain through state regulations that were introduced in 2015, and varies from one region to another. Eighteen intermediate and higher degree courses are offered in Navarra, with around 500 students currently signed up (220 on internships) and 176 collaborator companies.
There are also five special FP courses, with 200 professional training students and lecturers in Navarra completing internships and training in Europe last year (2.67% of the total) – the highest figure of all the autonomous communities.
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