Last Friday, the Algeciras Port Authority (APBA) kicked off the 4th edition of the Algeciras Port Digital Academy, an initiative promoted by the institution’s Technological Development Department that seeks to train digital talent and expand the range of companies offering internships with the aim of bringing port and logistics activities closer to the next generation.
As Jesús Medina, head of the APBA’s Technological Development Department, told the students attending the event, ‘it is time to be ambitious, to seize the opportunity. The port is moving forward through technology and companies are telling us that they cannot find staff’. For his part, the president of the APBA, Gerardo Landaluce, pointed out that 12 participants in this project have already joined the staff of the participating companies, ‘an example of public-private collaboration to generate employment and facilitate the entry of young people into the labour market.’
Algeciras Port Digital Academy is aimed at centres that offer vocational training degrees in the digital sector, in this case the IES El Saladillo and Kursaal secondary schools in Algeciras, which offer advanced vocational training courses in ‘Multi-platform Application Development’ and ‘Web Application Development’, respectively. Kursaal also offers a specialisation course in cybersecurity in information technology environments. Fifty students are participating in this fourth edition, which has 16 places available for internships.
At the same time, during the event, the 3rd Algeciras Port Tech Talent Awards were presented at the Millán Picazo Auditorium, recognising the best final projects of the 2024/2025 academic year from both centres. The winners were Lucía Martínez and Francisco Fernando Gaitán, from IES Saladillo and IES Kursaal, respectively. Ángel Gómez, from the former centre, also received a special mention.
The APBA presented the awards at a meeting with students and teachers, which served as an opportunity for both the educational centres and the CEOs of the companies participating in the programme to present their offerings. Participating in this edition are Maersk, Balearia, Prodevelop, Sopra Steria, OnNet Centre, Getronics, Satinel System, TTI Algeciras and NextPort. In this regard, Adrian Hermida, from Maersk, pointed out that ‘in these internships, the students learn, but they also bring very new ideas that we can apply in improvement processes to remain competitive.’
Among its initiatives, Algeciras Port Digital Academy also includes the University Expert Course in Digital Transformation Applied to Port Logistics in collaboration with the University of Cádiz; the Digital Trekking training programme together with Moeve; the inclusion of the Port of Algeciras as a 5G training centre alongside Vodafone; and collaboration with the Andalusian Digital Agency to promote the Mission Programme.
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