For the first time, 15 students from the Barcelona School of Second Opportunities have started an international mobility experience in Vejle, Denmark. This exchange, carried out in collaboration with FGUTrekanten and Xarxa FP, offers young people a unique opportunity to expand horizons, improve skills and share learning with students from other countries.

During the stay, participants will enter a new culture, attend training activities and strengthen their social and professional skills. This initiative marks an important step in the commitment of the School of Second Opportunities to offer transformative educational experiences to its students.

On March 18, the 11th DonaTIC Awards have been opened with the aim of distinguishing the role of women in the professional, business and academic world in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) and disseminating references among society to promote vocations in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (CTEM) and promote the presence of female technological studies.

The BCN Vocational Training Foundation is part of the jury of these Awards that are divided into eight categories and two subcategories, one of which is for a VET TIC student who has developed a remarkable project or initiative in this field.

The deadline for applications is 18 March 2025 until 30 April 2024, at 14:00 h.

Call: HERE
Press Note: HERE

The second Intercultural Workshop was held with the participation of students from Barcelona and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB). This meeting focused on conflict management, knowledge of responsibilities and commitments, as well as key aspects about host cities.

The aim of the workshop is to promote coexistence, empathy and joint growth among participants, providing tools to improve their experience in a multicultural environment. This initiative reaffirms the commitment to inclusion and training in values for a more cohesive society.

The mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, visited today the offices of the Barcelona Vocational Training Foundation and the FP Network at the Municipal Institute of Education of Barcelona (IMEB). The visit has served to exchange ideas and explore new ways of collaboration to promote professional training in the city.

Collboni, who is also president of the Foundation, has highlighted the importance of vocational training for the future of Barcelona and has expressed his commitment to the development of new initiatives that allow to generate a positive impact in this area.

The visit was well received by representatives of the BCN FP Foundation and the FP Network, who thanked the mayor for their interest and expressed their willingness to work together with the Barcelona City Council to consolidate the city as a benchmark in vocational training.

Barcelona, March 12, 2025 – The BCN Vocational Training Foundation, has presented the Yearbook of Vocational Training and the Barcelona Labour Market, AMB and RMB, a key report to evaluate and analyze the evolution of Vocational Training and its relationship with the labor market in Barcelona and its metropolitan area and region. The event took place in the Plenary Hall of the Headquarters of the District of Sants-Montjuïc with the participation of institutional representatives and experts. 

The institutional opening was given by Javier Rodríguez, Commissioner for Child, Adolescent, Youth and LGTBI Policies at the Barcelona City Council; Elisabet Tejero, Director of Social Policy and Equality Services at the AMB; José Luis Durán, Executive President of the Agency for Vocational Training and Qualification of Catalonia; and Paco Ramos, Secretary of Labor at the Department of Business and Labor. 

Next, we presented the Yearbook with the intervention of Maria Nogué, secretary of the Economic and Social Council of Barcelona; Àngel Tarri’o, coordinator of the VET Observatory of the BCN Vocational Training Foundation, and Javier Gracia and Victoria Sanjuan, technicians of the VET Observatory. During the session, outstanding data have been shared, such as the “improvement of the employability and quality of this occupation thanks to VET”, as well as the 21% increase in enrollment in the VET system throughout the AMB with respect to the 2020/2021 academic year. These figures reflect the positive impact of vocational training on the labour market and its ability to adapt to the needs of the sector.  

The event ended with the closing of Pere Fàbregas, vice president of the BCN Vocational Training Foundation, and Francesc Roca, secretary of Vocational Training of the Department of Education and Vocational Training. 

The Yearbook of Vocational Training and the Labour Market is consolidated as well as an indispensable tool to understand the dynamics of the labour market and adapt vocational training to current and future needs. The day served to strengthen the commitment of institutions and the sector in the continuous improvement of VET.

The 26th General Assembly of the FP Network took place in Espoo, Finland, bringing together representatives of European cities to discuss future network initiatives and strategies for vocational education and training (FP) mobility. The event, organized at the Omnia Campus, focused on key debates on the 2024 and 2025 work plan, budget allocations and strengthening international cooperation.

During the assembly it was announced that the city of Patras (Greece) has provisionally joined the FP network, marking a significant expansion of the collaboration. The event also included a tour of the Omnia Campus, showing its role in professional education, and a meeting of mobility managers, which provided the opportunity to exchange ideas and improve the mobility of students and staff through the network.

The General Assembly reaffirmed the commitment of participating cities to foster the mobility of high quality vocational training, strengthen partnerships and support innovation in education across Europe. A sincere thanks to all the attendees for their participation, with special thanks to Omnia for its outstanding organization and warm hospitality.

On March 4, 2025 at 10 am, in the auditorium of Barcelona Activa, we participated in the 3rd Conference of Values Work one of the programs of the Professional Life Project promoted by Barcelona Activa and of which we are partners: BCN Vocational Training Foundation, Barcelona Education Consortium and Femcat. The Work with Values program consists of 3 conferences throughout the course with inspiring presentations related to the values of work, such as perseverance, responsibility, respect or self-improvement.

In this session, ESO and vocational training students participated presenting their projects:

• Fèmina, Virolai School
• Match&Co, Escola Virolai
• Aplatue, Institute of Logistics of Barcelona
• Natural Drone, IES Bernat el Ferrer
• Ecotech, IES Bernat el Ferrer

For this third conference we had the testimonies of Helena Arias, scientific disseminator and European Junior Champion 2021 of Olympic shooting and Oriol Escursell, founder of Nilak, a traveling circus theater, winner of the Lluís Carulla Award 2020.

We participate and coordinate the Monitoring Commission of the Dual FP project in the Barcelona City Council, which will take place on February 27, 2025 at 10am in the auditorium of the Municipal Institute of Finance of Barcelona.

This commission is made up of representatives of the Barcelona Education Consortium, Barcelona City Council, Dept. Education and FP, BCN FP Foundation and representatives of the centers (Dual VET coordinators) and the leading people of districts, managements, municipal institutes and other municipal companies are also convened.

It is convened annually to take stock of the current 2024-2025 course and present a proposal for the calendar and planning of the 2025-2026 course, this year with some changes and novelties derived from the application of the new VET law, quality certification and renewal of the new framework agreement.

On February 26, at the headquarters of Barcelona Activa, the “Table of Training, Education and Accreditation of Competences” was gathered, which is part of the ABOQ, Barcelona Agreement for Quality Employment, and which the Foundation is part of. We have been able to know the evolution and changes in the competence accreditation service of the FPCAT Agency; I also share the information about the FP Empresa Office. This office is a gateway to provide companies with information on Dual Vocational Training. Barcelona Activa adds it to its services in companies, and the Barcelona Education Consortium interacts with the centers. The Foundation works on all the material support and strives to coordinate with other metropolitan initiatives, such as the project that is being developed in the municipalities of the Delta del Llobregat. We have also explained the role of the Barcelona City Council as a training organization. All these projects are possible because collaboration is done at many levels and information is shared and debated. Barcelona Activa has commented on its training offer and, as a novelty, the first dual FP in the field of charcuterie and poultry. The table has been asked to follow up on what is underway and to start new initiatives.

Barcelona continues to bet on the international training of young people from 16 to 21 years old who participate in the Training and Insertion Programs (PFI) and Basic Vocational Training. Within the framework of the Erasmus internship project, promoted by the Barcelona City Council and the FP Network, a group of students will carry out training stays in various European cities: Vejle (Denmark), Munich (Germany), Dijon and Toulouse (France).

To prepare for this experience, the students participated in the 1st Intercultural Workshop, where they reflected on their expectations, fears and contributions to the program. This exchange space, shared with students from the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, has served to promote inclusion, learning and the development of new skills.

Since 2012, the Barcelona City Council has promoted initiatives to improve educational success and job placement for young people who have not graduated from ESO. This Erasmus project is a consolidated opportunity that allows students to acquire professional experience in an environment