In this sense, the MEFP will promote the accreditation of professional skills acquired through work experience among workers without degrees.
In the Commission, and after recalling the more than 70 measures implemented by the Ministry during the pandemic crisis and detailed two weeks ago in the Congress Commission, Celaá has reviewed the "axes of the modernization process that the MEFP is promoting since this legislature began and that the educational emergency requires accelerating and deepening, not slowing down or paralyzing. "
"If Spain wants to grow and eradicate poverty, the solution is not to cut back on education. To invest in education, because education is an investment, not an expense," said Celaá, who has reiterated the commitment to increase its financing until reach 5% of GDP by 2025.
The Ministry has been working for two years in the FP modernization, which is now gaining new impetus to move towards modern and European training, which articulates the professional training of the educational system and vocational training for employment.
"Facing the serious imbalances that Spain presents due to the lack of trained professionals and the high unemployment rate mainly means to qualify and requalify people in the so-called 'intermediate levels'", Celaá recalled. In 2025, 49% of jobs will require a medium qualification level. Today only 24% of the Spanish active population has this level.
Thus, the Ministry intends to improve the level of qualification and promote and facilitate the procedures for accreditation of professional skills acquired through work experience among workers without qualifications. To this will be added a new procedure for the recognition of basic competences among the active population that does not have them accredited by degree. And there will be specific professional training offers tailored to the needs of adults.
The modernization of VET also includes the incorporation of new specialties in the catalog of degrees and the promotion of professional guidance. It constitutes a true "State challenge" that requires collaboration with companies, social partners and entities and organizations in the third sector to jointly make VT one of the pillars of social and economic reconstruction and employability.
The teaching profession, key to a quality education
The policy of teachers, whose dedication and effort has been essential during the pandemic, will also be "one of the fundamental axes of this Government", the minister assured.
The organic bill amending the LOE (LOMLOE), currently in parliamentary procedure, establishes the commitment to present, within a year from the entry into force of the law, a regulatory proposal that regulates initial and permanent training, access to the profession and the development of the teaching career. In turn, improving the practical training of future teachers will be one of the goals of the revision of the study plans, which has already begun.
The minister has also promised to continue working with the autonomous communities to continue reducing the high interim rates, despite the fact that the pandemic has caused the postponement of the call for public employment. In 2019, the interim already decreased from 29.4% to 23.3%, and the MEFP will continue working to approach the target rate of 8% by the end of the legislature.
Another priority area is to update learning in a modern curriculum, by competencies, focused on learning, with the aim of reducing early school leaving rates. The purpose is to promote an inclusive education at all stages, with a less rote and encyclopedic curriculum that guarantees fundamental learning.
Promoting the progressive universalization of education from 0 to 3 years is another priority. At this stage, essential because it lays a solid foundation for lifelong learning, only 39.6% of boys and girls are currently in school. Within a year from the entry into force of the law, an eight-year plan will be presented for the extension of the first cycle of early childhood education, giving priority to students at risk of poverty and social exclusion.
Digitization of education
The digitization of education is another priority area, following the base established by the Digitization and development plan for digital competence in Vocational Education and Training, with a transversal and comprehensive vision. Likewise, the MEFP will sign an agreement with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation to develop a territorial cooperation program to jointly dedicate resources to digitization, also having European funding. In FP, there will be a clear commitment to the degrees and content associated with new generation technologies.
Guaranteeing the equity of the scholarship and study aid system is the sixth priority area. The minister recalled the recent presentation, together with the Ministry of Universities, of the reform of this system, which restores its character as subjective law. The Government will increase the amount allocated to scholarships by 386 million euros, representing a 22% increase in investment for the 2020-2021 academic year, the largest increase in a decade.
A law open to agreements
The LOMLOE bill includes the main consensus resulting from the 83 appearances in the Subcommittee of Congress. In addition, the MEFP received more than 43,000 communications and 100 contributions from educational organizations, autonomous communities and regional school councils in the consultation prior to its approval. Likewise, within the State School Council, more than 550 amendments were presented, debated and voted one by one, recalled the minister, who wished to underline her desire to "reach out to agreements in matters where Spanish education is at stake his future, since in education there are more points of union than discrepancies. "
