The Vice-President of the Government stated in Praia da Vitória that the implementation of "Terceira Tech Island" (TTI) concept, created just over a year ago, is already a success.
Sérgio Ávila spoke at the opening ceremony of the facilities of another technological company based in this city under the TTI project. On the occasion, he recalled that the project was launched to mitigate the impact caused by the reduction of activity at Lajes Air Base.
In view of the serious social problem arising from this situation, particularly in terms of employment, "we have sought to identify, on a global scale, which sector of economic activity would have the greatest growth potential in an archipelago such as the Azores."
"We clearly realised that the area of programming would have the greatest potential for growth" due to the severe shortage of programmers in the archipelago. According to him, this sector also "has more conditions to attract international companies because, from here, we can produce to the world without logistical and transport constraints."
In order to implement this project, Sérgio Ávila stressed that "we only needed a crucial aspect in this sector: the quality of human resources" and, in this regard, "we have managed to train people in record time, through intensive training, and we will continue to train."
Highlighting the quality of programmers covered by these training initiatives, the government official stated that "if we currently export software from Praia da Vitória to France, the Netherlands, Austria, Jordan and other countries, this is because we have the capabilities of producing worldwide."
The Vice-President of the Government stressed that the TTI project, "in which very few believed," has been recognised nationally and internationally. According to him, it is "an example of how it is possible to solve a problem, a serious problem, and find alternative job creation opportunities."
Sérgio Ávila highlighted that this project "has already changed the lives of 120 Azoreans, who are already employed or receiving training under TTI, and has also contributed to the revitalisation of Praia da Vitória by creating employment and promoting the economic growth of Terceira and the Azores."
InfoSistema, a company that starts today its activity in Praia da Vitória, has 10 programmers and plans to recruit 10 more in the next two months, joining the ten companies already installed or in the process of being installed on this island.
Currently, another 45 programmers are receiving training. The registration period for additional courses has already opened.