Formentera gets €470,000 to finance programmes for jobless

foto 2020 pla de xocThe Formentera Entrepreneurship Department reports that details of the Balearic Islands’ Emergency Employment Plan for 2020-2021 (Pla de Xoc per a l’Ocupació/PXO) were made public today, with planned local investment of nearly half a million euros in direct assistance to 175 islanders.

The package of emergency measures aims to offset the Covid-19 crisis with investments of €116,000 to shield people affected by the pandemic. They money will go to initiatives such SOIB’s Reactiva programme, which promotes employment opportunities for out-of-work islanders, or capacity building for furloughed and unemployed individuals.

After unveiling Formentera’s bespoke PXO rollout, Consell de Formentera deputy premiere and entrepreneurism councillor Ana Juan and head of the Balearic office for economic model and employment Llorenç Pou sat down with stakeholders from local unions and economic institutions.

Describing support for the island’s jobless as one of the Consell’s “fundamental commitments”, Councillor Juan cast inter-governmental collaboration and coordination on such initiatives as “now more important than ever”.

Eighty-seven per cent of the €470,000 package will benefit priority groups like individuals who have been directly affected by the new coronavirus, said the regional office chief. He also flagged €90,750 for long-term unemployed individuals, €117,500 for young people and €86,500 for islanders who have endured gender violence and those at risk of social exclusion.

Pou described PXO’s enactment as “imminent” and said most recruitment would occur in the coming weeks and run parallel to the introduction of various additional measures.

The 20-point plan rests on six fundamental axes

1. Public procurement
2. Business recovery
3. Employment
4. Training
5. Vocational guidance and job-matching
6. Modernisation

The plan sets aside €287,000 for public contracts, €81,000 for training, €64,250 for professional orientation and job-matching and €38,500 for employment creation.

Training at jobseekers’ centre
One modernisation strategy could include training programmes at SOIB–Formentera, said Pou. Tech training courses are also in the works and could start in January.

The director pointed out that the measures make good on the promise of the Balearic Islands Recovery Agreement (Pacte de Reactivació), an integral part of which is policy on quality equitable employment.

PXO’s €72,4 million in total investment will directly benefit more than thirty-three thousand people across the region in 2020 and 2021. An emergency injection of help for Covid-19-related joblessness, PXO marks the first step in creation of the new Quality Employment Plan (Pla d’Ocupació de Qualitat 2021-2023) by the regional ministry of economic model, tourism and labour.

26 November 2020
Communications Department
Consell de Formentera