The "La Palma for Employment" project, aimed at improving employability and job placement, is a collaborative effort between the La Palma Island Council and the University of La Laguna. It is expanding its reach to all municipalities in the north of the island. This was announced yesterday, Thursday, July 11, at a press conference held in the municipality of Barlovento. Participants included the President of the La Palma Island Council, Sergio Rodríguez; the Councilor for Employment, Fernando González; the Mayor of Barlovento, Jacob Qadri; and the project's Academic Director, Professor Vicente Zapata of the University of La Laguna.
The president of the island council highlighted that this project expands its multidisciplinary team to operate from more service points and incorporates new features such as the development of training activities open to the entire population. Rodríguez also emphasized that this initiative, which has been implemented in Puntallana, San Andrés y Sauces, and Barlovento, has served a total of 509 people since its launch, also facilitating the employment of approximately one hundred of them.
The island councilor for Employment indicated that this new initiative aims to accommodate at least 180 unemployed people over 30 years of age from the municipalities of Tijarafe, Puntagorda and Barlovento, promoting coordination with town councils and other resources and initiatives that are being developed in the northern region.
The project director, for his part, indicated that this expansion had been under consideration in recent months, and had also been recommended on the various occasions when the project's Advisory Council had met, convinced that working methods based on proximity in terms of technical intervention tend to offer quite satisfactory results.
Project expansion
The northern part of La Palma, from Puntallana to Tijarafe, registered 1,037 unemployed people during May 2024, according to the Canary Islands Employment Observatory, representing 15.6% of the total unemployment on the island. This population is a priority target for the 'La Palma for Employment' project over the next seven months. Following this expansion, the project's coverage has been extended to the six northern municipalities, adding San Andrés y Sauces, Barlovento, Garafía, and Puntagorda to the two previously included.
To embark on this new phase, the team is expanding to include four specialists—three psychologists and one educator—who will coordinate a versatile group based in the north that will travel throughout the region. It will continue to be led by Professor Vicente Zapata, who has extensive experience with this type of initiative. The project also has the support of the six municipalities in the northern region, which are providing municipal facilities and collaborating on coordination through their respective departments, services, and professionals.
This expansion of "La Palma for Employment" will focus on a region with approximately one thousand unemployed people, mostly women (57.1%) aged 45 or older (60.3%) with low levels of education (51.6%, primary education), and a significant presence of people of Venezuelan origin. It will strengthen collaboration with the business sector to identify job opportunities through prospecting and the formalization of stable agreements: the aim is to add another 40 companies to the 51 already committed. The program also emphasizes the hiring of qualified personnel, as 76.3% of the budget is allocated to the remuneration of the technical team.
La Palma for Employment
‘'La Palma por el Empleo' has been operating in the northeast region since June 2021 with positive results, supporting five hundred people and targeting 406 until May 2024. The expansion of its coverage had been recommended in various meetings of the project's Advisory Council, convinced that working methods based on proximity in terms of technical intervention tend to offer quite satisfactory results.
The project aims to match labor supply and demand in the target area and its surroundings with a personalized training approach. It focuses on training topics such as customer service in retail establishments, cleaning assistant, and food handling and allergens, while also supporting participants in developing the key skills necessary for obtaining professional certifications. Regarding job placements, the most common occupations are in the service sector, with cleaning assistant, warehouse management with customer service, and waiter/waitress being the most frequent.
New features
This edition of the project also incorporates some new features, such as the possibility of developing training aimed at the whole of society and not just unemployed people, with two 20-hour workshops each, accredited by the General Foundation of the University of La Laguna and the idea of generating at least 150 training places for participating unemployed people.
A diagnostic assessment of the employment situation in the region will also be prepared, which includes the publication of a guide to employment resources in northern La Palma. Advisory meetings will continue, along with an activity to share the experience and knowledge gained with the island's population. All of this, along with identified job openings, will be published in a regularly distributed newsletter.
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