Yesterday Formentera held the first edition of the Employment and Entrepreneurship Fair in the Jardí de ses Eres and the Antoni Tur ‘Gabrielet’ Center, in Sant Francesc, with the participation of 18 companies offering more than a hundred jobs. Administrations and Pimef also attended.
The aim of the initiative was twofold, explained Formentera council president and head of entrepreneurship Ana Juan: “On the one hand, it’s about establishing synergies and putting companies and workers in contact with each other, and on the other hand, it’s about allowing both the SOIB and IES Marc Ferrer, the fair’s collaborators, to provide information about the training they offer”. Ana Juan said the council is working to set up an entrepreneurship centre “to help diversify Formentera’s manufacturing sector and economy”.
The objective related to training for self-employment was achieved with the active participation of many students of the training courses of the IES Marc Ferrer to the scheduled talks. In addition, the students of the basic cooking and catering courses were in charge of offering mid-morning catering to all attendees.
On the other hand, the objective of putting workers in contact with employers was not achieved due to the scarce presence of job seekers.
At the end of the day the companies consulted coincided in pointing out the low attendance, which they summarized with a simple “we have done something…”. Referring to the fact that they had collected some resumes, but not enough to fill their vacancies. They all agreed that they supported the fair, which they described as “positive”, and blamed the low turnout on the fact that it was the first year it had been held. One of the participating recruiters summed it up: “It’s good for being the first time, but there were more companies than public”.
“It is good for being the first time, but there were more companies than public”
Regarding whether access to housing is a problem to complete their workforces, most of them have accommodation for their workers, although they recognize that it was not enough for the entire workforce, so they are trying to find residents.
Among the participating companies there were several hotel chains, two car rental companies, two shipping companies, a grocery chain, the waste management company, as well as the Consell’s firefighters, beach lifeguards and the Policía Local, who provided information on the requirements to join each of these bodies while displaying their work material.
The Consell also set up a table where they exhibited their job offers from the Human Resources area and facilitated the preparation of resumes.
The Entrepreneurship Classroom
Along with the president of the Consell, the fair was inaugurated by the Balearic Govern’s director general of Vocational Training (FP), Antoni Baos, and the SOIB’s island director for Ibiza and Formentera, Dolors Roig.
The general director of FP was proud to participate in this day and highlighted the visit he made to Aula de Emprendimiento del IES Marc Ferrer, which offers four training courses, and “which helps to provide Formentera with workers and future entrepreneurs”.
He announced that this classroom “will be launched this year” under the coordination of Pepe Salvador Puig. The objective of the entrepreneurship classrooms is to provide students with the necessary tools for the creation of microenterprises in order to promote self-employment as an alternative to working for others.
The students propose a business idea and find the necessary resources to start it up with the support of a tutor advisor and the necessary administrative tools.
Users of these classrooms can be students studying different training courses, but they are also open to former students during the three years following the end of their training studies.
Local applicants for jobs
All the people who wandered through the Fair yesterday in search of information or employment were residents of Formentera, so they know that they already have the advantage to find work.
One of them was a young woman, Lisa Ferrer, a first year Business Administration student who was enthusiastic: “First we have been in a talk to learn how to set up our own company, and I have reaslised that I have to focus on what I really want and not on what others tell me“. Her goal is to work this summer “to earn some money, learn and then go back to school”, so she left her resume on several tables.
Another worker who attended an interview for a new hotel opening in the Migjorn area was Laura Laroca: “ I am looking for a job as an administrator to be able to establish myself on the island on a permanent basis. I have presented my proposal to this hotel that is about to open and with a very attractive project. I am very happy with the interview”. Regarding housing, she says: “I have a plus because I have a house but you also have to have a job to be able to pay rent in Formentera. Sometimes you get a house but not a job according to what you have to pay and the standard of living here”.
Carmen Molina is in charge of human resources at this new establishment, the boutique Hotel Terenka (former Hostal Santi), which plans to open in June in Migjorn and which is looking for 50 workers. In its case, it has 27 beds to accommodate them.
Dana Molina and her friends are going around post by post leaving resumes. Molina explains that they are leisure monitors who are being trained by the Consell but they are looking at the job opportunities they have. They all have homes: “We have come to see what they’re offering on the island this summer or the possibility of the whole year”. Dana Molina is “open to any kind of offer”, from administration to cleaning, says one of them: “We have also been to the shipping company that is looking for moorers and people for the ticket offices and to the Policía Local, where they explained the entry requirements to us”. All of them were very satisfied: “This is very good, you learn a lot”, said Molina.
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