The seven new Specialised Technology Centres (CTE) in Vila Nova de Famalicão, whose implementation projects will be completed by the end of 2025, will boost vocational and technological education in the municipality, creating better conditions in terms of equipment and the robustness of the technological infrastructure of Famalicão's schools, through the installation or modernisation of spaces and equipment.
"We're talking about a new generation of vocational schools, better equipped and with more skills to train in line with what the times demand," explains the mayor, Mário Passos, who also recalls that Famalicão is "increasingly a territory of creation and innovation".
The mayor believes that the impact of the new schools will be reflected in the promotion of business competitiveness, "favouring the creation of qualified jobs and, consequently, leveraging the productive potential of the local and regional economy".
With the creation of the Vila Nova de Famalicão Local Network of Specialised Technology Centres, the municipality and the schools - namely the Forave Vocational School, the Camilo Castelo Branco School Group, the Padre Benjamim Salgado School Group, the D. Sancho I School Group and the CIOR Vocational School - aim to boost coordination and inter-cooperation in the implementation of this investment. Sancho I School Group and the CIOR Vocational School - intend to boost coordination and inter-cooperation in the implementation of this investment, but also to create synergies that can push education towards levels of innovation and technological specialisation, valuing intermediate qualifications and the growth of secondary level training with professional certification.
The investments will make it possible to acquire equipment "not only in quantity, but also in innovation and quality to keep up with what is being done in industry," says Manuela Guimarães, director of the Forave vocational school. And she gave the example of "our school, with two CTEs, one linked to IT and the other to industry, we're in the best of both worlds that will allow us to link industry and digital and qualify students for industry 5.0".
It should be noted that the funding approved for the new equipment, over 8 million euros, is the result of applications submitted to the PRR - Recovery and Resilience Programme for the creation and installation of 7 CTE - Specialised Technology Centres in the areas of IT, Renewable Energies and Industry, promoted by these schools.