On February 2, INFODEF participated in the “Territories with a Future” forum held in Arévalo (Ávila). During the first day of the event, Federico Campos presented the Erasmus CoVE project HABITABLE, which INFODEF has been working on for several months, alongside partners from six other European countries, to address the shortage of skilled workers in digitalization and ecological transition skills in the habitat sector at the European level. HABITABLE is an innovative project in the field of vocational training and is particularly relevant to the theme of the forum as it is a pioneer in Spain and Europe in the habitat area.
The forum, which has several previous editions, is organized by the AEICE efficient habitat cluster and the Ávila Foundation, and this time focused on addressing the future of young people in the face of the current demographic challenge. The goal is to place young people at the core of territorial development to stimulate the economy, create new job opportunities, and combat depopulation. Throughout the two days, topics such as entrepreneurship and rural housing were discussed, aiming to reverse the depopulation trend through training and youth involvement. Nearly 200 participants, including representatives from private companies, public administration, foundations, young people, and trainers, learned firsthand how the HABITABLE project aims to align vocational training with the needs of the habitat sector as defined in the regional sectoral plan (in the case of Castilla y Leon).
In his speech, Federico Campos, as project coordinator at INFODEF, emphasized the crucial importance of vocational training to promote entrepreneurship in rural areas, establishing population in activities related to heritage, digitalization, and ecological transformation through the circular economy. The HABITABLE project involves CoVEs (Centers of Vocational Excellence) linked to the habitat. These centers will participate, along with other project partners, in developing various products over the 48-month duration of the project, including: the Skills HUB to facilitate online training for trainers, SMEs, and students; an online dual competency center to support SMEs in managing work-based learning programs; the Smart SIP, an intelligent platform for sustainability planning; and a skills ecosystem for the habitat sector where policy recommendations will be developed.
The “Territories with a Future” forum also took the opportunity to present some success stories to encourage young people to embark on entrepreneurship. Presentations included “From the Forest to Your Home,” with Marta Corella from Fundación Copade; the Cultural Association El Cinorrio, with Lucas Rodríguez Marcos; Circular Culture, with Beatriz Quintana; and Laguna del Oso by Kerbest, with Adrián Jiménez and José María Olarieta.
