The Minister of Education, Professional Training, Physical Activity and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands, Poly Suárez, presided over the inauguration of the Professions show for 2025 this Wednesday. The event is scheduled to take place on April 9 and 10 at the Integrated Professional Training Centre (CIFP) Virgen de Candelaria, under the stewardship of Julián Fariña, located in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife municipality, in the Ofra neighbourhood.
The CIFP Tenerife caters to approximately 1,400 students and employs nearly one hundred and fifty teachers. For the academic year 2025-26, it will offer a remarkable selection of 42 sports cycles and courses across 10 professional families. This educational institution has its roots in the workshop-school model established in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1944, boasting over 80 years of history.
In his address, Suárez reaffirmed his dedication to the newly designed model for Vocational Training (FP) in the Canary Islands, which is associated with Dual FP and tailored to the actual needs of the community and the local economy. According to him, this type of vocational education “must evolve into one of the fundamental levers for the economic and social advancement of the Canary Islands.”
In this context, Suárez emphasised the upcoming training offerings for FP across the Canary Islands for the 2025-26 academic year, which will include the establishment of 151 new groups and two courses available in a virtual format. These options will enable students to pursue their studies remotely and complete their assessment exclusively at an institution on their home island. This development complements the existing cycles and courses available in the archipelago, highlighting “the commitment of the Canary government to vocational training.”
In the same speech, Suárez underscored his department’s intention to collaborate effectively across various sectors, with a focus on “continuing to advance the dual model, enhance infrastructure, integrate innovation, strengthen training in emerging fields, and, most importantly, bolster partnerships with businesses,” as “a modern FP cannot exist without the active involvement of productive entities in the educational process.”
The minister expressed his gratitude to CIFP Virgen de Candelaria for their effort and organisation in hosting the Form 2025 event, while also stressing the importance of promoting such initiatives, which provide guidance and information to students and foster a spirit of collaboration and understanding among public companies and institutions.
Form Plé yourself, which brought together more than fifty companies and six hundred students from various educational institutions in Tenerife in 2024, dedicated its third edition to the industrial sector this Wednesday and Thursday, under the theme Promoting future. This event serves as a platform to showcase the current educational offerings of CIFP Virgen de Candelaria at www.cifpvirgendecandelaria.es.
On this Wednesday, the exhibition brought together various companies and public and private organisations, with the official activities attended by the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, alongside the vice-counsels of professional training and employment qualifications, Francisco Rodríguez Machado and Isabel León, as well as the General Director of Vocational Training and Special Regime Teaching, Carolina León, among other dignitaries present.
Following the official opening of the Fair, Rodríguez Machado highlighted the significant role of the business sector in the implementation of Dual FP during his presentation titled The role of companies in the new FP. Subsequently, Carolina León, the General Director of Vocational Training and Special Regime Teaching, elaborated on the necessity of aligning the labour market with new educational offerings in her discussion entitled Formative offer versus sector needs.
Sharing Experiences with Businesses
Representatives from companies such as Hne Rental (Loxamhume), Lithography Romero, Tenerife Shipyards, Interurban Transportes of Tenerife, SA (Titsa), and Wooptix were involved in the presentation of the discussion Best Practices in Dual FP: Companies and Organisations.
To conclude the presentation and the exchange of ideas, a roundtable titled Designing Professional Profiles was arranged, which included representatives from the Industrial Association of Automobile Repair Workshops of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (ASINTRA), the Tenerife Chamber of Commerce, the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE-HEBENFE), the Association of Professional Training Centres FPEMPRESA, and the Canarian Employment Service.
On Thursday, form 2025 will host its open day, expecting to welcome around five hundred students from various educational institutions located on the island. The programme will include activities focused on sharing experiences, professional guidance, workshops, as well as exhibitions and visits to stalls set up by different vocational sectors represented in the CIFP, potentially offering insights into the courses provided this year or the following one.
