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Endesa, the Fundación Santa Bárbara and the Fundación Ciudad de la Energía-CIUDEN enter into a collaboration agreement.
- They are providing free training courses for candidates wanting to join the teams dismantling the thermal power plants or wanting to work on tasks in the ecological transition process (renewable energy plant assembly, operation and maintenance)
- Although open to everyone, residents of Cubillos del Sil, Ponferrada and Cabañas Raras have preference
New training opportunities are available to people wanting to work on the dismantling of thermal power plants or on tasks involved in the ecological transition process (renewable energy plant assembly, operation and maintenance). Endesa, Fundación Santa Bárbara Foundation (Junta de Castilla y León) and the Fundación Ciudad de la Energía-CIUDEN, part of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, have reached an agreement to provide training for residents who want to acquire this knowledge, prioritising residents of Cubillos del Sil, Ponferrada and Cabañas Raras. The agreement, which takes effect immediately, was signed today in Cubillos del Sil by Arsenio Terrón Alfonso for the Fundación Ciudad de la Energía-CIUDEN; Alfonso Arroyo González and Manuel Álvarez Pastor for the Fundación Santa Bárbara, and Miguel Temboury Molina, on behalf of Endesa.
CUIDEN’s general manager, Arsenio Terrón, said that “At CIUDEN we are convinced that training and education are essential to the ambitious ecological transition project we are undertaking to provide green, sustainable employment. Public and private organisations must collaborate closely to harness opportunities as they arise as a key driver of economic and social momentum in the territory, particularly in mining regions affected by the closure of facilities and thermal power plants. "
The Director General of Energy and Mines in Castilla y León and first vice president of the Fundación Santa Bárbara, Alfonso Arroyo, said that "the Government of Castilla y León, through Fundación Santa Bárbara, supports all initiatives that provide training and qualifications to unemployed people in the mining regions, especially at difficult times such as the closure of coal mines and the end of the thermal power plant activity cycle. With more than 30 years’ experience, the Fundación Santa Bárbara is a benchmark in terms of vocational training, and will ensure that the training provided under the agreement between FSB, CIUDEN and Endesa is effective and improves participants’ job prospects".
Endesa Northwest territorial general manager Miguel Temboury said that “regarding the Compostilla plant, Endesa is following its Strategic Plan and the national energy policy to achieve a fully decarbonised system by 2050. Endesa is working on a voluntary plan called Futur-e to mitigate the impact of declining activity and to encourage economic development and employment in Bierzo within a fair transition model. This flexible plan has room for other new and viable initiatives that may be proposed in the future to achieve the objectives of making progress in the region, adding our efforts to the leadership of the public authorities, as is the case in this training agreement. The Futur-e Plan also respects Endesa staff jobs and gives total priority to employees of contractor companies for plant decommissioning activities and new renewable project launches”.
With support from the Ciudad de la Energía-CIUDEN and Santa Bárbara foundations, Endesa is offering free training for 360 people wanting to add to their skills and to qualify for jobs created by the closure of the Compostilla plant and processes related to renewable energy and potential new sectors in the Bierzo region.
The course offer is open to residents of the province, although applicants who can prove that they have been officially resident in Cubillos del Sil, Ponferrada or Cabañas Raras for at least one year have priority access. Preference will also be given to former employees, the thermal power plant’s contractors and to women. Training will take place throughout 2020 and 2021.
There are three different courses: Training in dismantling thermal power plants (200 hours), Wind farm operation and maintenance (150 hours) and Technical training in potential sectors(100 hours). The latter will be linked to the result of the project competition for the site (Futur-e) that Endesa launched at the end of last year and to the training needs detected by CIUDEN, Santa Barbara Foundation and Endesa. There will be between 30 and 50 places on each course and transportation will be provided from Cubillos del Sil, Ponferrada and Cabañas Raras. A total of 350 people will receive training.
The calls for applications for training courses for dismantling thermal power plants will be scheduled as follows: The first call for applications will in April and May, with enrolment open during the month of March; the second will be in June and July, with registration in May; the third call for applications is scheduled for September, October and November, with enrolment period during July, August and the first half of September, and the final one, in January, February and March of next year, with enrolment in December 2020 and first half of January 2021. Applications for admission can be submitted to Cubillos del Sil, Ponferrada and Cabañas Raras Town Halls, or to the Santa Bárbara Foundation at Calle Aguilonjos s / n, 24310, La Ribera de Folgoso. Calls for applications for the wind farm operation and maintenance and technical training courses in potential sectors will be announced in due course.
The courses will take place at the facilities of the Fundación Ciudad de la Energía -CIUDEN, and at the Escuela Laboral del Bierzo, in La Ribera de Folgoso. The Fundación Santa Bárbara will manage the courses.
Applicants who are selected and successfully pass the course will receive a certificate to accredit the training. They will also have better job prospects to join the teams dismantling the Compostilla plant or on the renewable energy facilities that Endesa is building in the province.
Endesa launched a project with measures to mitigate the impact of decreased activity at the plant. The Futur-e Plan aims to foster economic development and job creation in Bierzo. Under this programme, as well as considering proposals to allocate the land occupied by the thermal power plant to other industrial uses, it is also expected that the actual process of dismantling the plant will reduce the social impact of the end of Compostilla. With this objective in mind, the company will give priority to local workers when disassembling the thermal plant and building, operating and maintaining the renewable facilities included in the Futur-e Plan. To make this possible, it is providing training to potential workers, hence the agreement signed today.