The Ministry of Employment, Business, and Self-Employment has invested 1.7 million euros in improving the facilities of the Islantilla Hospitality School (Huelva), affiliated with the Andalusian Employment Service. The training center facilities were visited by the councilor, Rocío Blanco, who described them as «a benchmark» among the resources available to her department to promote the employment integration 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 storm that affected the province of Huelva in September 2021. The Ministry allocated 912,000 euros to these tasks, where Blanco acknowledged «the effort and commitment» of the School’s staff to ensure that, despite the serious consequences of the storm, classes at the center were only interrupted for three weeks.
«It was important to adapt the damaged spaces, but we also committed to acting with the necessary means to prevent the future consequences of meteorological phenomena of that magnitude,» Blanco emphasized. To achieve this, a safety perimeter wall for water evacuation was built, as well as an outdoor parking lot and improvements to the entrance area of the building.
The remaining works included improvements to the accesses in the lateral area of the center and in the garden areas, «a success» according to Blanco because that space can now be used for students of the School to carry out outdoor practices and demonstrations thanks to the installation of a large tent. The investment in this second phase of the works amounted to 802,000 euros.
The councilor also announced the main actions planned for this year, which, according to her forecasts, «will strengthen the status of this School as an excellent source of Hospitality professionals.» Specifically, work will be carried out on air conditioning for the restaurant area, and a new thermal envelope project will be developed for all facilities based on an environmentally friendly cooling system. Additionally, the center will be equipped with new outdoor furniture in the rear area and perimeter lighting throughout the plot.
Twenty-seven years of «excellence»
Close to celebrating 27 years, almost a thousand students (916) have been trained at the Islantilla Hospitality School over 24 promotions. Once they have completed their training in Kitchen and Restaurant, they have acquired the necessary skills to start their journey in the job market. «They have done so with the utmost guarantees because the theoretical and practical excellence knowledge imparted here by its magnificent teaching team results in an employment integration rate 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, thus, reinforcing the possibilities of accessing stable and quality employment» once their learning phase is completed.
In the case of Hospitality, as detailed, this is of particular importance as it is «a fundamental pillar for our economy» and «allows us to have more and better professionals to address the worrying deficit of professional profiles reported by companies in the sector of Huelva and throughout Andalusia.