Santa Cruz de Tenerife 10 Feb. (Europa Press) –
The Cabildo de Tenerife is advancing training initiatives through the ‘Scholarships America’ project, which will assist seven young individuals from the island with placements in Mexico and Colombia.
Consequently, the Vice President and Minister of Tourism, Lope Afonso; alongside the Insular Director of External Action and Institutional Relations, Pedro González, recently welcomed the beneficiaries of the programme to the island palace.
Lope Afonso emphasised in a statement that this initiative aims for “the employment integration of numerous young people from Tenerife, who can have substantial prospects in the future.”
He further noted that “these are scholarships that cover placement and living expenses, but they do not involve paid internships; thus, students who have recently completed their higher education will gain access to practical work experiences.”
Afonso also advocates for “enhancing communication channels and increasing awareness of these initiatives.”
The ‘Scholarships’ programme is intended to enrich the experiences of young people from Tenerife, specifically in Mexico and Colombia, as the primary locations where these experiences will take place.
“We firmly believe this is a beneficial tool, and we are committed to advancing it for the betterment of the career prospects for the youth of Tenerife,” he expressed.
Pedro González elaborated that they have succeeded in “not only solidifying the Scholarships America programme initiated during this term but also significantly expanding it,” adding that “this approach achieves the dual goal of training individuals from Tenerife in a regional context, while simultaneously establishing advocates for the island in various countries to strengthen international relationships.”
The project is an initiative promoted by the Cabildo de Tenerife and the Insular Canarian Foundation for training, employment, and business development (FiFede), aiming to foster the internationalisation of Tenerife’s economy by facilitating the acquisition of knowledge and experience for graduates residing on the island through non-work-related training placements abroad, in collaboration with entities located on the American continent, which may include public bodies, private firms, or third sector organisations.
This training programme has its recent origins in the ‘Scholarships Africa’ initiative, which, upon its launch in 2014, enabled over 150 fellows to undertake professional placements across various countries on the neighbouring continent: Cape Verde, Morocco, Senegal, and Gambia.
As a continuation of these efforts, the ‘Scholarships America’ project commenced in 2023, following the initiation of a first edition that allowed three fellows to undertake placements in several businesses in Mexico City during 2024 for a duration of six months.
This second edition, announced in the last quarter of the previous year, maintains Mexico as the primary destination while also expanding to Colombia, allowing seven fellows, upon successfully completing the respective selection process, to commence their practical placements in February for a duration of six months. Of these, four will be based in Mexico City (Mexico) and three in Bogotá (Colombia), with their return scheduled for the end of August.
