Lagoa’s job and training fair is returning for a second edition in March 2020.
Hoping to bring employers and job seekers together, the event also aims to fill vacancies in some key areas such as urban waste collection and the hotel sector.
“We want this event to be more proactive this time. We will bring together companies, the business fabric of Lagoa and debate what is most needed,” says Lagoa mayor Luís Encarnação. “What are the opportunities for job seekers? What are the needs of companies in Lagoa and the Algarve? What type of candidates are they looking for?”
Schools will also be invited to take part and encouraged to open professional courses in the next school year, which will help qualify workers for the jobs that need filling.
As the mayor explains, hotel bosses often tell him how hard it is to find workers in the Algarve.
“It is a problem that affects everyone. We (council) have also had trouble hiring people to work in urban waste collection,” says the mayor, adding that vacancies are left unfilled.
The council is then forced to seek service providing companies to carry out the work, but they all face the same problem.
Meantime, the High Commissioner for Migrants has reached out to AMAL, the Algarve municipalities’ association, in order to discuss an “integration programme”, confirmed the mayor.
“It would be backed by a €7,500 grant for each migrant for a period of 18 months. Apart from the humanitarian issue, which is obviously the main focus of the project, it meets the region’s demand for more labour. These migrants are, for the most part, young people who want to integrate and are searching for a job and I think that is very important for the region,” says Encarnação.
In July last year, the Algarve hoteliers’ association (AHETA) had already showed openness to the idea of welcoming immigrant labour (click here).
Original article written by Bruno Filipe Pires for Barlavento newspaper.
Photo: Lagoa mayor Luís Encarnação says even the council has had trouble hiring people
