For four days, Lleida will become “the epicenter of FP in Catalonia” with the first Skills Fair. The event, held at the Palau de Vidre and Fira de Lleida, will bring together all the Catskills competitions in a single space and time for the first time, alongside workshops focused on the 2030 horizon for Catalan trades. The Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Esther Niubó, presented the event with the Mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa.
The unification of the Catskills will concentrate 35 tests with the participation of 300 aspirants, who will demonstrate their skills in various vocational training specialties. This championship will serve to select the Catalan representatives for the national Spainskills competition. The event will feature over 140 educational centers and 250 teachers, with thousands of visitors expected, including students, families, companies, and administration representatives. The fair will also play a key role in vocational guidance for ESO and baccalaureate students, as well as university students and active workers.
Mayor Fèlix Larrosa highlighted that choosing Lleida to host this new format of the Catskills is a “great opportunity and also a recognition of our city”, turning it into a “great showcase for Vocational Training”. Larrosa emphasized the importance of FP for Lleida's growth and transformation, as well as the need to connect training centers with companies and adapt training to labor market needs.
One of the notable novelties will be the pioneering incorporation in Spain of the Artificial Intelligence skill applied to industrial sectors, which will be presented in a demonstrative phase. Minister Niubó stressed that the Catskills are “pure talent brought to the competition of trades” and an incentive for FP students, demonstrating the robust health of the Catalan professionalizing system.
The event will also include the first Trades Workshops, which will present a Declaration with 10 objectives to guide the professionalizing system towards future jobs. Minister Niubó stated it will be a “necessary and essential prospective” for adapting training to future jobs.
Mayor Larrosa argued that “FP is not a second option. FP is future, it is talent, and it is employment”, aiming for “a Lleida that trains talent, generates opportunities, and is capable of retaining that talent here”.
