Terceira Tech Island with increasingly consolidated project in the regional economic context
The Terceira Tech Island (TTI) project, created about two and a half years ago, “is a very strong reality in the economic context of Terceira and the Azores,” said the Government's Vice President.
Sérgio Ávila spoke in Praia da Vitória at the opening ceremony of the technological centre of the national company Bool - Software Consulting. It has seven programmers on the island of Terceira who have received training in the scope of TTI and intends to recruit another three in the short term, always actively looking for new local talent for software production.
“Today we have more than 20 companies already installed and Terceira Tech Island has created more than 170 direct programming jobs,” Sérgio Ávila stressed, adding that “Terceira Tech Island is not only what already represents, but also a huge growth potential in the near future.”
In this regard, the government official announced that, even in the current situation marked by the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, Terceira Tech Island has managed to attract another three new technological companies, which are being installed in Praia da Vitória.
“There are five companies already installed within the Praia Links and in other spaces provided by the City Council, which, due to their significant growth, both in terms of human resources and activity, will relocate in coming months to buildings located in the centre of Praia da Vitória,” revealed Sérgio Ávila.
For the Vice President, this demonstrates that, in besides the increase of companies with new facilities, there is significant growth in terms of their activity and the recruitment of human resources.
"What we are marking today is not just the opening of another company and new facilities, it is an example of many events that will continue to happen over the next few months," said the government official.
In his speech, Sérgio Ávila revealed that, in terms of salaries, Terceira Tech Island represents, since its inception and until the end of 2020, more than 3.5 million Euros for the island of Terceira and the municipality of Praia da Vitória.
“This has a very strong economic impact. Besides the qualification and use of human resources and the export factor, the salaries of programmers and other workers represent an increase in gross income of more than 3.5 million Euros in almost three years,” stressed the government official.
For this reason, this investment proves to be “extremely productive and important” and, accordingly, we must continue to look to the future.
“Having managed to attract and install another three new companies during the pandemic and to have another five companies that will soon relocate to expanded facilities, given their growth in terms of human resources, is a very significant sign of what is the path we want to follow,” noted the government official.
In this regard, the Vice-President recalled the main goals of the TTI project. They are primarily focused on creating conditions for the establishment of companies in the technological area to foster the development of software and the creation of qualified jobs, mitigating the social and economic effects of the reduction of U.S. forces at Lajes Base.
“I believe it is consensual that we are achieving this goal at the moment. As regards the benchmark we had set, we are implementing it and we expect to further reinforce it in the near future," added the government official.
In this context, Sérgio Ávila stated that the path is being followed and continues to be followed because, on the one hand, national companies have invested in this project and, on the other hand, the quality of human resources leaves no room for doubt.
“We have proved that here, in the Azores, we have capable and competent human resources to compete on a global scale. It is not the geographical location that is important in this matter, but the quality of workers. We have extremely competent people here that they produce software for Europe, the United States and for any other country," stressed the government official.
For the government official, from the Azores, in the middle of the Atlantic, it is possible to be as or more competitive in an area such as technology on equal footing and on a global scale, seeing that the most competitive advantages lie in the ability to attract companies and the quality of human resources.
“The quality of human resources is directly linked to our potential, our willingness to work and with our ability to deliver results, and not with the geographical location or the limitations of an island. We are setting an example,” said the Vice-President of the Government.