The Department of Employment, Business, and Autonomous Work has invested 1.7 million euros in improving the facilities of the Escuela de Hostelería de Islantilla (Huelva), affiliated with the Andalusian Employment Service. The training center’s facilities were visited by the councilor, Rocío Blanco, who described them as «a benchmark» within the resources available to her department to promote the employability of unemployed individuals. Blanco was accompanied during the tour by the mayor of Lepe and the first deputy mayor of Isla Cristina, Adolfo Verano and Francisco Zamudio, respectively, as well as the government delegate of the Junta de Andalucía in Huelva, José Manuel Correa, and the territorial delegate of Employment in the province, Juan Carlos Duarte.
The councilor first learned about the results of the urgent work carried out at the time for the cleaning and recovery of spaces damaged by the DANA that affected the province of Huelva in September 2021. The Department allocated 912,000 euros to these tasks, in which Blanco recognized «the effort and commitment» of the School’s staff to ensure that, despite the serious consequences of the storm, classes were only interrupted for three weeks.
«It was important to adapt the damaged spaces, but we also committed to taking the necessary measures to prevent the consequences of such severe weather events in the future,» Blanco emphasized. For this purpose, a safety perimeter wall for water evacuation has been built, in addition to setting up an outdoor parking lot and making improvements to the entrance area of the building.
The rest of the work has consisted of improvements to the access points on the side of the center and in the garden areas, «a success» according to Blanco because this space can now be used for students to carry out outdoor practices and demonstrations thanks to the installation of a large tent. The investment in this second phase of the work amounted to 802,000 euros.
The councilor also outlined the main actions planned for this year that, according to her forecasts, «will strengthen the status of this School as an excellent source of Hospitality professionals.» Specifically, work will be done on air conditioning the restaurant area, and a new thermal envelope project will be developed for all facilities using an environmentally friendly cooling system. In addition, the center will be equipped with new outdoor furniture in the rear area and perimeter lighting throughout the premises.
Twenty-seven years of «excellence»
Approaching its 27th anniversary, almost a thousand students (916) have been trained at the Escuela de Hostelería de Islantilla in 24 promotions. After completing their training programs in Kitchen and Restaurant, they have all acquired the necessary skills to start their careers in the job market. «They have done so with the utmost guarantees because the theoretical and practical excellence imparted here by its excellent teaching team results in employment rates exceeding 90%, and that indicator is the best reward we can receive,» Blanco emphasized.
The councilor stressed that the training center in Lepe is the best example of how «Vocational Training for Employment is the most effective tool we have to train workers, providing them with the skills and abilities demanded by companies and, therefore, strengthening the chances of obtaining stable and quality employment once their learning phase is completed.»
In the case of Hospitality, she detailed the special importance of this sector as «a fundamental pillar of our economy» and as it «allows us to have more and better professionals to address the worrying shortage of professional profiles reported to us by companies in the Huelva sector and throughout Andalusia.»