The Town Hall of Santa Cruz In March, a pioneering project will begin in Anaga to fight against “educational abandonment” and favor the labor insertion of young people between the ages of 14 and 35 who reside in that area. This was announced by the mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez (CC), who reports that this initiative, included in the Sustainable Urban Development strategy (DUSI), will mean an investment of more than 366,000 eurosfrom the European Regional Development Fund (Feder).
The councilor chicharrero points out that, in general terms, it is an educational project for youth integration, which “plans to promote social inclusion and fight against poverty, focusing, in this case, on the youngest population of the massif.” The main objective of the project, adds the mayor, is to achieve, through a “tutorial program”, the academic, labor and social improvement of the young population, «with a view to reducing or counteracting the effects of leaving the educational stage early». According to Bermúdez, the participants will receive “comprehensive care” in such a way that “it allows their redirection towards social and labor insertion.”
For her part, the Councilor for Education, the nationalist Claudia Reverón, points out that the initiative includes actions to prevent early school leaving. In this sense, the mayor recalls that “this refers to a situation in which people do not have any title or professional qualification once the compulsory schooling stage has been completed.” According to the Active Population Survey (EPA), Anaga registers data well above the average for OECD countries (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), with a rate in 2021 of 13.3% for people from 18 to 24 years of age, who “had not completed the second stage of Secondary Education (Intermediate, Basic, or Baccalaureate FP) and were not following any type of training.”
The mayor emphasizes that the participants will receive <> attention
«The causes of early school leaving are multiple and multidimensional, since they come from both the educational field and social, family or cultural conditions. The most common characteristics of young people in this situation include learning problems, immaturity, psychological disorders, bullying, low motivation and interest in learning or difficulties concentrating. They can also include problems of addiction to alcohol, drugs or screens, “says Reverón.
The councilor of the Anaga District, the nationalist Inmaculada Fuentes, highlights the “importance” of this initiative, because, as she points out, “It is a great opportunity for the youth of the district”, since they will have a “close” attention and accompaniment, by qualified personnel. “The idea is to gain the trust of the boys to be able to reorient them towards a social, educational and labor reintegration, with measures that will be focused and adapted to their needs, with the intention that this attention is as personalized as possible,” he adds.
The City Council has designed three different care itineraries, since the age range to which this project is addressed “is relatively wide”. The actions will be carried out for 18 months, “so there will be enough time for the participants to carry out technical and professional training, and achieve their job placement before the end of the project.”
return to classroom
The first of the itinerariesReturn to the Classroom, is a program aimed at the youngest participants, who are less than 16 years old, and whose short-term objective is not job placement, but rather a return to the classroom, “so that they can complete their basic training.” Psychological and emotional support will be provided to the participants, “so that they trust again in themselves, in their environment and in the educational system as a way to achieve their medium-term work-related objectives.”
Vocational training
The second itinerary has to do with Vocational Training, through a program aimed at young people who are over 16 years old, “of age to become active in the labor market, but with limited training or qualifications to access the labor market”. After carrying out a diagnosis of their situation and preparing their socio-professional project, their training itinerary will be carried out that allows them to improve their employability and access the labor market in the medium term. They will be provided with tools for labor activation.
insert yourself
The Insert program is aimed at participants who are already in a position to access the labor market by age“for which several courses of transversal skills and tools for job search will be carried out.”