8th guest – Partner PADRE PIQUER
Guillermo Rodriguez Martinez – Technology & Vocational Training Professor, Padre Piquer School
Guillermo, through do you think that the Vocational Education and Training system is currently adapting to the labour market needs and it is proving quality learning?
I think that VET education has realized that digitalization on companies is happening, and it is true that adaptation on the education system has been successfully updated in some specific cases, but there are still some VET trainings that fail to meet labour market needs and are separated from the fast-changing world of modern economies.
There are so many training programs at companies compare to several years ago.
VET has been neglected: it has received limited attention compared to other parts of the education system. This is also changing because of the government, for example in Spain, that has been developing a special planning to VET education in last recent years.
Guillermo, has the energy sector changed so that companies and education system must be prepared to deal with more radical changes?
Some of the difficulties that come up when governments try to deal with digitalization, is that they are not capable to do radical changes in the education programs easily. Companies in Spain like Iberdrola, Repsol etc. have their own specific programs that match with their needs, but small and medium size enterprise have much more difficulties to adapt.
Also, the development of the skills and VET programs required more time to be updates and it is also needed to train teachers and educators.
Additionally, in the context of digitalization, do you think dialogue between companies and education systems should be improved?
Yes. In the new law planned in Spain for VET education the agreement between the companies and trainers, involved a more integration program in the labour market. Rewarding companies that stablish a formal contract with their trainers giving much more importance to VET education. This is a priority for the actual Spanish government.
Guillermo, what are you doing when you are not working?
I like running to get on foot but also enjoy working with Arduino kits making activities to improve my students on digital skills and by introduced them to basic programs while they are playing with robots.
