Students learn electricity, mechanics or parts assembly, encouraged by a 40% recruitment commitment.

In a joint effort to improve training and employment opportunities in La Rinconada, the town council and Surtruck have launched a specialised course to train unemployed people in specialised tasks related to vehicle manufacturing. Tailor-made training with theoretical notions related to the design, development and manufacture of industrial equipment for the fire-fighting and street cleaning sectors.

The first students have already passed the theoretical phase and are now in Surtruck learning a qualification that can open the doors to the job market, especially if we take into account that the company’s hiring commitment is 40%, although this figure can be increased depending on the staffing needs of the projects.

The first deputy mayor of La Rinconada, Raquel Vega, visited the Surtruck facilities together with the councillor for Training and Employment, Antonio Marín Luque. On their arrival at the factory, they were welcomed by the manager, Juan Gallego, the financial director, Ana Jesús Reyes, the head of the workshop, Francisco Algaba, and Alba Lozano, from the technical office. After a tour of the facilities, they greeted the students and exchanged impressions about their adaptation to the apprenticeship positions.

OPPORTUNITIES

La Rinconada leads the employment rates in the province, with an unemployment rate of 16.54%, the figure they had before the 2008 crisis. To achieve these results ‘we have agreements with many companies that help us to give an opportunity to our unemployed. In fact, this course arises from the collaboration that the council maintains with companies based in our municipality and with a solid track record and good practices, as is the case of Surtruck’, explained Raquel Vega.

In this line, the councillor for Training and Employment, Antonio Marín Luque, recalled that ‘we have to discard the idea that our municipality is only concerned with agriculture. As the mayor says, potatoes are produced here, but aeroplanes are also made here. Hence our interest in training the population in other disciplines’.

Marín Luque explained that the programme for Surtruck has been designed with the specific needs of the company in mind. ‘For the theoretical training, we have had the collaboration of an academy in the municipality, thus ensuring the quality of the education and the adaptation to the demands of the company. Once the theory had been assimilated, the students began their internships at Surtruck and will be here until October, a fundamental stage for the participants to gain real experience in the factory, as gaining these skills increases their chances of employment’.

The programme has benefited more than a dozen participants, such as José Maudilio Murga, Silvia Martínez and Yolanda González, who have highlighted the importance of female inclusion in areas such as this: ‘There are women who do have the capacity to work in this sector, and this is an opportunity to prove it’.

According to Surtruck’s financial director, Ana Jesús Reyes, ‘we needed to increase the workforce and the idea of doing this through a partnership with the city council came up. Initially, there is a commitment to hire 40% of the students, although the figure could increase depending on the needs of the company’.

This is the first collaboration agreement signed by Surtruck for tailor-made training. ‘The first step is always the most difficult, and the idea is that from now on we can develop more collaboration agreements that offer job opportunities and help us to grow,’ concluded Surtruck’s financial director.