VALVERDE (EL HIERRO), Feb. 15 (EUROPA PRESS) –
A working meeting took place on Thursday between the Minister of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Children and Families, Candelaria Delgado, and the president of the Cabildo of El Hierro, Alpidio Armas, during which they discussed various issues concerning migrant minors hosted on the island. This included the development of training programs tailored to the island’s economic needs.
Consequently, both administrations made progress in identifying the necessary measures to improve care for the group of fifty unaccompanied migrant minors who are residing stably on the island. At specific times, this number can reach close to 300 until the administrative procedures for their subsequent transfer are completed.
Following the initial meeting, representatives from both administrations met with the island’s business community to directly understand the positions that are currently unfilled in their companies and the existing labour demands on the island.
Based on this information, the Ministry, in collaboration with the Canary Islands Employment Service (SCE), has pledged to design specific training plans that will facilitate the appropriate qualification of migrant minors. This will enable their integration into jobs with higher demand on the island, according to a statement from the department.
To achieve this, Social Welfare has already commissioned a preliminary study to assess the skills, training, and limitations of the minors residing in the island’s resources. The aim is to design tailored integration pathways.
Delgado expressed the Government’s commitment to utilizing all available means to qualify the group of 50 minors hosted on the island through tailored training programs.
INTEGRATION INTO THE LABOUR MARKET
“These pathways will allow many of these young people to integrate into the El Hierro labour market in sectors such as social health, construction, agriculture, or hospitality,” he emphasised.
He expressed, “Many of the young people who arrive on the islands already have prior qualifications. It is crucial that they have opportunities for training and, if conditions are suitable, do so in sectors where there is labour demand.”
He continued, “By doing so, they can fulfil their aspirations of finding employment and supporting their families at their place of origin, while also addressing a need within the local productive fabric.”
A meeting was also held in the morning, where the three mayors of the island and their respective area councilors participated to analyse the current situation.
Alpidio Armas, the president of the El Hierro Town Council, expressed gratitude for the visit and stated that during the meeting “aspects related to minors, migrants and non-migrants, along with the state of the residences and care for the elderly at home on the island were addressed, as well as the state of care for dependency and disability in El Hierro, among other issues related to social rights on the island.”
EXPEDITING DEPENDENCY SUPPORT
The El Hierro councillor of Social Rights, Amado Carballo, reported that they have also discussed the necessity of having a physical space in El Hierro, which could be located at the Valverde Day Center, to streamline the procedures related to dependency and disability on the island. This would facilitate the travel of assessment teams to the island.
“We also talked about the need to reconfigure the current Dependency Agreement, as we have noted that the places would need to be reassessed. This includes the pricing, duration, and number of places based on the degree of disability and dependency of each user, setting up a new agreement for 2025-2029,” he pointed out.
They have also worked on the joint resolution of the works at the La Frontera nursing home and have considered extending the deadlines for the execution of the works and integrating them into the Third Social and Health Plan, among other possibilities.
Along with the councillor, the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Francisco Candil, was also present at the meeting; the general director of Disability, Dulce María Gutiérrez; the general director of Child and Family Protection, Sandra Rodríguez, and the general director of Dependency, Concepción Ramírez, as well as the three mayors of the island (Carlos Brito, Pablo Rodríguez and Juan Miguel Padrón) and councilors from each municipality.
Later in the morning, they also visited the center for unaccompanied minors (former Student Residence) and the Echedo social and health center.
