The delegate for Employment, Enterprise and Self-Employment, Amós García Hueso, yesterday presented the meeting ‘Innovation and strategic development in the natural stone sector: training for the future’, which will take place on Thursday 13 June at the Escuela del Mármol de Fines, National Reference Centre for Natural Stone. The presentation was attended by the president of the Association of Municipalities of the Almanzora Valley, Antonio Ramón Salas, and the president of the Association of Marble Entrepreneurs of Andalusia (AEMA), Jesús Posadas.
Amós García explained that this meeting “wants to join forces and facilitate a space for dialogue and meeting between the main actors in the stone industry, to detect and promote new development opportunities in this sector and promote innovation, research and training as drivers of strategic transformation, capable of responding to the present and future needs of the natural stone productive fabric and improving the employability of the inhabitants of the Almanzora region and the entire province of Almería.”
“To achieve this, we will have the voice, experience and contributions of business organizations in the province, companies in the stone sector and related activities, other National Reference Centers with close relationships with the Marble School, and other administrations. public and institutions in the field of education and training,” added the Employment delegate.
Amós García has highlighted that “the Marble School has an important role in boosting the economy and employment in the Almanzora Region that we want to reinforce, opening it even more to contact and collaboration with the municipalities that make up this territory, with its fabric. productive, with public and private institutions, with other administrations and centers in the training field.”
Likewise, he recalled “the school’s connections with other national reference centers and training centers and its participation in projects with European universities” and stressed that it is also “strengthening ties with the University of Almería to work together on lines of research.” and university training in the extractive sector, develop training actions in collaboration with the school and organize artistic activities around the natural stone of Almería, among other actions.”
Amós García has highlighted that “the school, as the National Reference Center for Natural Stone, has the mission of permanently updating professional training for employment in extractive industries at a national level, experimenting and innovating in its sector and always taking into account takes into account, thanks to the constant and close dialogue it maintains with the productive fabric, the present and future needs of companies and the territory in terms of training qualified professionals, responding to challenges in terms of sustainability, digitalization and automation and contributing to generate opportunities for socioeconomic development.”
Open Administration Week
The provincial head of Employment has also reported that this meeting is part of the Open Administration Week, which will be held from June 10 to 14 with more than 30 activities of the Territorial Delegation and the Andalusian Employment Service: door days open in the Territorial Delegation, a day on risk prevention in work at height and workshops aimed at improving skills for searching for employment in employment offices throughout the province, as well as workshops to learn about the SAE and Social Security apps .
For his part, the president of the Association of Municipalities Valle del Almanzora, Antonio Ramón Salas, thanked “that the Employment delegate has promoted contact between the Almanzora Region and the University of Almería” and has highlighted “the solvency of the natural stone companies and their contribution to employment in the region.
He also welcomed the holding of the innovation and strategic development meeting “which will give greater dissemination to the work carried out by the Marble School, providing visibility to companies and training responses to citizens to generate employment. «Companies need qualified personnel who can be trained by the school, an example of the effectiveness of the policies being carried out by the Junta de Andalucía in Vocational Training for Employment.»
The president of AEMA, Jesús Posadas, thanked the Employment delegate “for holding this forum in the Marble Region. There are two key words in this meeting, research and innovation, concepts that we have been working on for some time in our companies and that differentiate us and provide a competitive advantage worldwide.” In addition, he explained that AEMA is working with the University Department on the possible reopening of the Andalusian Stone Technology Center.
He also highlighted the importance of training for employment and “the added value that our companies provide thanks to the know-how and knowledge in stone treatment. Proof of this is the presence of our products on all five continents. Entrepreneurs are responsible for creating employment and social well-being and in this global context, professional training is necessary to have qualified employment in accordance with the demands of today’s labor market.»
Context tables, business experiences and training
The meeting ‘Innovation and strategic development in the natural stone sector: the formation of the future’ is divided into three tables with interventions by experts. In the first of them, the current vision of the stone sector and its context will be offered, analyzing the main challenges, opportunities and trends. The presidents of the Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Marble Businessmen of Andalusia will take part, as well as the representative of European Initiatives and Entrepreneurship of the Provincial Council of Almería.
At the second table, representatives of companies that stand out for their innovative nature in the stone industry and related activities, such as architecture and logistics, will participate, with the aim of highlighting the role of training for the success of business projects. and learn about examples of good practices and learned knowledge that inspire new initiatives and collaborations. The directors of Ferrer Arquitectos and Goucargo, a representative of the Talent and Development area of Cosentino and the director of the Technological Center for Marble, Stone and Materials of Cehegín (Murcia) will participate.
The third table will address the training offer offered by various public educational and training entities in relation to the natural stone industry and related sectors and will identify opportunities for improvement and public-private collaboration to strengthen qualifications in this area. The director of the IES Juan Rubio de Macael, an expert teacher in Vocational Training from the Territorial Delegation of Educational Development and Vocational Training and the head of studies at the Escuela del Mármol will participate.
There will also be contributions from representatives of the National Reference Centers for Logistics and Transport of Zaragoza, and of Renewable Energy of Pamplona, as well as the Higher School of Art and Design of Mérida, training centers with which the Marble School maintains a close collaboration.
The meeting is aimed at companies, public institutions, employment and career guidance technicians, entrepreneurship promotion technicians, training centers, non-profit organizations and people in general interested in the natural stone sector and vocational training as a way to promote innovation in this activity.