The Government of the Azores will release in coming days a comprehensive study conducted by the Government through the Observatory for Employment and Vocational Training, the University of the Azores on the profile of university students in the Region.
The announcement was made today by the Regional Directorate for Labour, Vocational Training and Consumer Protection during the signing of two cooperation protocols between the Regional Secretariat for Labour and Social Solidarity and the University of the Azores for the Professional Reconversion of Graduates and the Training of Youngsters with secondary school diploma.
Speaking during the signing of these two protocols, Rui Bettencourt even stated that, among all European countries and regions, the Azores are the only region that knows the exact profile of its university students, “their difficulties, wishes and aspirations, their origin, the degrees they are about to complete and their career aspirations so that we may adjust our measures to the reality we observe and monitor.”
According to the Regional Director, the governmental strategies for the working life have lead “the overwhelming majority of our graduates to have a first contact with the labour world through the “Estagiar” programme and, according to the Observatory for Employment, traineeships are the first choice of employers.”
“Nowadays, in this context of crisis, 48% of trainees are recruited on the day after the conclusion of their traineeship and nearly 70% six months later.
More than 450 graduates have been recruited over the past 12 months,” Rui Bettencourt said, stressing that even after “our intense interventions in the area of vocational training, it is now time to focus on intermediate courses.”
Moreover, the Regional Director said that the European Commission also points out the increase of 430,000 jobs for the intermediate technicians. Hence, these protocols, according to Rui Bettencourt, also aim “to refer unemployed youngsters with secondary school diplomas for technological specialisation courses. The vast majority of unemployed youngsters with academic degrees or secondary school diplomas are being followed by the Agencies for Training and Employment. In this context, they may be also referred to post-graduation courses and master’s degrees or to specialisation courses in Ponta Delgada, Angra do Heroísmo and Horta.”
Another important aspect taken into consideration by t Regional Director concerns the preparation of Azorean youngsters for professional mobility through European mobility programmes, such as Eurodyssey, an initiative promoted by the Assembly of European Region which is currently chaired by the Azores. Under this mobility programme, over 60 Azorean youngsters are undertaking internships abroad. In the past past fifteen years, more than one thousand Azorean youngsters have benefited from Eurodyssey to consolidate their education.
“With regard to the Azoreans who wish to have a professional experience under the EURES network – an initiative developed by the European Employment System which has over one million job vacancies and more than 25,000 employers across Europe – our advisers, belonging to a network of 700 European advisers, will be able to recommend attendance in a European languages course to all those who wish to strengthen their knowledge before starting their professional experience abroad,” stressed the Regional Director.
Thus, for Rui Bettencourt, the close relation between the Government of the Azores, the University and regional companies strengthens “the opportunities for our youngsters to build a future that will certainly be of hard work, but also increasingly promising.”