The biggest stumbling block for dual vocational training: there are not enough companies to take on interns.

BarcelonaThe new Vocational Training (VT) law wants to revive a previously very common figure in our home-grown businesses: the apprentice. The regulations, approved three years ago by the Spanish government and which the autonomous communities have begun to implement this year, increase the number of internship hours students complete in a real work environment and promote a more significant role for the entire model. Its biggest stumbling block.

"Several educational centers in Catalonia are finding it difficult to find companies that offer internships to their students," denounces the manifesto published by the FP Assembly, a platform that brings together students, teachers, and coordinators of centers affected by this problem. The main reason for this is that some companies are reluctant, especially to take on intermediate-level students, since many are still minors or have little prior experience. The main reason for this is that in order to accommodate all this time dedicated to internships in companies, students often have to start working in businesses during their first year, and this isn't always possible.

The executive president of the Catalan Vocational Training and Qualification Agency (FPCAT Agency), José Luis Durán, told ARA that he understands this concern on the part of the centers and assures that the Government is working to ensure that more companies enter the system. "Those who cannot find internships in their first year will be able to do so in their second year and will end up working the required hours. There may be specific sectors in which we have difficulties, but a huge effort is being made to increase the number of high-demand places," he explains.

Some of the most affected are healthcare degrees, where the percentage of students completing the intensive program is less than 2%. Furthermore, students can no longer validate work experience as internships. On the contrary, in other sectors, such as the extractive industries, the rate already exceeds 75%. "Everyone has a responsibility, but the new law gives companies much more than they've had before," says Durán, who insists that the starting point is good and that the proportion of intensive dual education will gradually become more balanced.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, there were 16,336 apprentices—26.4% of those enrolled in the second year—following programs that have so far been called dual vocational training. This is practically double the number three years ago. According to the latest available data, the number of companies with a current agreement to host students has also doubled: 17,706, of which 40% (7,104) opened their business doors to a student during that academic year. Given the gap between these two figures, Durán points out that Catalonia's productive fabric is mainly made up of micro-SMEs with few employees, who may be reluctant to take on an apprentice due to the costs and time invested in training that this entails. "We are looking for the best way to support them from the administration," he explains.

One solution to this lack of willingness, comments the president of the FPCAT Agency, is the figure of the joint tutor. This person would act as a link between the educational center and the company, assuming bureaucratic tasks for different SMEs. "Systems are needed that appeal to companies. Dual vocational training should be their main source of talent. They have to understand that it is a benefit and assume its costs," says Fabian Mohedano, professional talent promoter and former president of the same organization, who also calls for the incorporation of the joint tutor. Among other solutions that can be applied, he points to the need to develop a dual vocational training map adapted to the 21st century to understand what places are needed and promote specialized centers in the different productive sectors.

"Quantitatively, in Catalonia there is sufficient business infrastructure to respond to the needs of dual vocational training," says Manuel Rosillo, president of the Training Commission of the Employment Promotion Agency. In this sense, he also considers it necessary to create this "map" to provide "prevention and safety": "It's not about all companies participating at the same time, but rather having the capacity to contribute places to the system on a permanent basis."

Collaboration with the SOC

Before accidentally meeting a post From Instagram, Anthony Stalyn Tomalá was thinking about looking for a job as a waiter. But that ad was for a start in a profession he'd never thought he'd pursue. Now he's one of 25 students taking a Dual Vocational Training (FPO Dual) course, promoted by the Guild of Butchers, Delicatessen Makers, and Aviram of Barcelona and its Regions. While he trains in the Mercabarna classrooms, where he learns how to use a knife and different cuts of meat, he also does an internship at one of the 20 participating companies: Carnicerías Sagarra, in Sant Cugat del Vallès. His contract is subsidized by the Catalan Employment Service (SOC), which also funds the students' training and support. "We must recover the apprenticeship. It's a trade without formal training, and we can't find staff," argues Elena Serrano, general secretary of the guild.

This is the fourth round of this program, in which 109 projects like this one were awarded, involving 1,594 students hired by 631 companies. The SOC allocated a budget of 38 million euros, more than doubled since the first edition. In these cases, companies clearly have the incentive of the subsidy, which helps overcome misgivings. "There are certain sectors where it's extremely difficult to find qualified professionals. Well, here we tell them 'if you can't find them, train them yourself,'" emphasizes Miquel Carrión, Deputy Director of Youth Employment and Vocational Qualification at the SOC. Thus, he argues that dual vocational training should become a recruitment and training formula that can spark vocations in trades that young people may not even have considered.