1.- The unemployment rate in Catalonia decreased for four consecutive quarters in 2021. What has been the impact of active employment policies? How is this impact assessed?
The Public Employment Service of Catalonia (SOC) promotes various active employment policies to foster and ensure quality services for individuals and businesses in Catalonia. To assess the impact of these policies, since 2014, the SOC has had an
annual evaluation model, developed by the Catalan Institute for Public Policy Evaluation (Ivàlua). This system allows us, on the one hand, to provide evidence of the results and impacts of policies already implemented and, on the other hand, to contribute to the continuous improvement of future active employment policies.
Specifically, the impacts achieved by the various programs promoted by the SOC are, generally speaking, positive.
A very recent example is the program through which we subsidize the
one-year hiring of young people by companies, self-employed individuals, cooperatives, and social entities; and which is yielding very positive and immediate results. This case exemplifies the usefulness and impact of SOC programs, both in terms of hiring and in training or career guidance. Another example is the
Work and Training Program for long-term unemployed individuals without professional qualifications. Once evaluated, 34.45% of the people who participated in the program entered the labor market sixteen months after its completion. That is, one out of three people found employment due to their participation in the program.
2.- What is needed for active employment policies to be programmed for multi-year periods and executed continuously throughout the year?
The SOC’s programming is already done within a multi-year, medium-term framework, taking into account the various funding sources and their specific management rules. In fact, Article 8 of the General Subsidies Law already establishes that public administrations must define a strategic subsidy plan, including its objectives, impacts, deadlines, costs, and funding sources, and the SOC complies with this.
The planning of programs financed with specific funds such as ESF, REACT, MRR is already formalized through multi-year files, typically for 2-3 years, which allows collaborating or beneficiary entities of the SOC to have stability in their execution. However, in the case of state-funded programs, the situation is slightly different, as these fund distribution agreements between autonomous communities are only made annually, and therefore, calls for applications must be issued year after year. Although planning is done with a multi-year scenario, commitments can only be assumed annually and according to the budgetary allocations, always conditioned by new agreements approved each year.
3.- During the pandemic, many guidance and training activities were carried out using videoconferencing platforms and virtual classrooms. What is your assessment of this? What is the future strategy?
In the field of Professional Guidance, we adapted action protocols, methodological guides, and published informative notes that remain valid today, always keeping in mind to place citizens at the center of our attention with a close and quality service. The means used were not limited to videoconferencing; they went further, utilizing phone calls, email, etc., to assist users, regardless of whether they had access to virtual means.
Regarding the assessment, after two years, it is positive. This modality has brought us even closer to the population, offering
greater accessibility to technical staff and providing equal opportunities across the territory. We must also highlight that the virtual modality offers greater work-life balance and scheduling flexibility. Looking ahead, the approach will likely be a hybrid system to ensure that everyone can access our service, regardless of their digital skills.
As for Vocational Training for Employment, the assessment of using online platforms and virtual classrooms is very positive. Training entities use the virtual classroom as a pedagogical resource, leveraging its strengths to cover more theoretical content and reserving in-person sessions for activities requiring practical skills and the use of instruments and facilities.
Training without in-person attendance is a model we do not expect to disappear; on the contrary, pedagogical models are increasingly developing resources for online group work, and this model makes more sense than ever, now that professional sectors have incorporated teleworking.
Currently, the SOC, in collaboration with involved training entities, is conducting an analysis of the implementation of these tools, which will help us determine their future use in a non-pandemic context.
4.- The Catalan Employment Service has published new calls for subsidies for the hiring of young people, women, and individuals over 45 who are unemployed. What do these subsidies consist of? What has been the response from companies?
This year, the SOC has launched a new proposal for aid to companies for hiring these groups. The aim is to support the hiring of individuals with particular difficulties in entering the labor market, as they face more challenges than other unemployed people.
In the case of
individuals over 45, women, and long-term unemployed, the SOC provides a subsidy for up to 12 months for salary and Social Security costs. This measure has been successful and has received a very good response from companies.
For
young people, we have two active calls for subsidies for the hiring of unemployed young people aged between 16 and 30. These subsidies are funded with 125 million euros from the European REACT-EU funds. Contracts will be subsidized for one year on a full-time basis, and eligible entities include companies, associated work cooperatives, and non-profit organizations (associations and foundations). The deadline to apply for the subsidy is April 30, 2022, and contracts can have been signed from one month before the publication of the call until April 1, 2022.
5.- The Catalan Employment Service has also published, for the first time, a call for subsidies to provide dual training. What does it consist of? What is the future strategy for dual training within the framework of active policies?
The new vocational training program for employment in a dual format allows unemployed young people to receive training to obtain a professional certificate in different specializations while being employed by a company for 12 months.
The main objective of this call is to facilitate the employability of unemployed young people with no qualifications or low educational levels and who face greater difficulties in accessing the labor market, by means of
dual training for a professional certificate and a training and apprenticeship contract.
Dual VET provides solutions and enhances people’s empowerment, and it also addresses the needs of the productive fabric and businesses regarding people’s training and qualification. It is a strategic commitment to meet the labor market needs for the coming years.
6.- What policies does the SOC promote to foster self-employment?
Self-employment is promoted through the SOC’s own service portfolio. Employment Offices guide registered individuals through self-employment and business creation pathways, informing them of the tools available to them. One of these tools is accredited training in micro-enterprise management, where participants acquire skills in diverse areas such as taxation, business plans, accounting, marketing, etc. This training, free for unemployed individuals, is key to reducing the mortality rate of new businesses established by entrepreneurs.
In the university sphere, we also promote self-employment by cooperating with
universities, as they are key agents in guiding university students to foster entrepreneurship and the creation of new knowledge-intensive businesses such as start-ups.
To promote these services, the SOC coordinates with the Generalitat’s bodies responsible for economic promotion, social economy, and business creation, which fall under the Department of Business and Labor.
7.- What has been your experience as an entrepreneur?
After leaving my job at the financial institution where I had worked for over 28 years in 2014, I started a personal project, creating a law firm with other professionals; in which I have practiced as a self-employed lawyer. Also as a team trainer for different companies.
My father was an entrepreneur; he came from his village in Jaén to Catalonia and opened his barber shop, where he worked for over 40 years. This is what I saw in my home all my life, and I always thought that was what I had to end up doing,
creating my own professional project, and so I did.
8.- Autoocupació’s motto is “I am what I want to be.” And you, are you?
For many years now, I can say that “I am what I want to be.” I decided to leave the job I had held for over 28 years and embark on my professional path as a lawyer, which until then I had been combining.
Since 2016, when I accepted the assignment to first direct CIRE and now SOC, I have been fully dedicated to public service, a privilege that allows me to serve citizens and address such important issues as the social reintegration of individuals deprived of liberty and, now, in the field of employment. But I always know my origins and, above all, my point of reference.
