The Port Authority of the Algeciras Bay (APBA) held the launch event past Monday, January 13, for the third edition of its initiative aimed at centers offering Vocational Training programs. This initiative consolidates previous alliances and significantly expands the range of companies where students can enhance their training, demonstrating its success and appeal in the Campo de Gibraltar region.
Thus, within the 2024-2025 school year, the initiative promoted and coordinated by the APBA’s Technological Development Area since 2022 continues. Its main objective is to bring port and logistics activities closer to young digital talent, facilitating their entry into the job market and boosting the growth of the productive fabric based on technology and innovation in the area where the Port of Algeciras is located. It is worth noting that this initiative is part of an ambitious program to attract, retain, and develop digital talent within the logistics-port ecosystem of Campo de Gibraltar, known as the Algeciras Port Digital Academy.
The inaugural event, held at the Millán Picazo Auditorium and hosted by Juan Antonio Herrera, the APBA’s Head of Innovation, brought together more than a hundred students, teachers, and representatives of participating companies. During the event, educational centers presented their training offerings in the fields of Innovation, Technology, and Digital Transformation, while partner companies detailed their projects and the opportunities they will offer to students.
Gerardo Landaluce, President of the APBA, opened the event with a welcome speech, highlighting the significant impact of this public-private collaboration initiative, which, in his words, “is laying a fundamental foundation for the present and future competitiveness of the Port of Algeciras Bay.” He also emphasized the importance of continuing to invest in this joint vision of teamwork, which facilitates the integration of value and young talent into the companies and institutions of the Port Community in strategic areas such as digitalization and innovation.
Following this, Jesús Medina, Head of the APBA’s Technological Development Area, praised the collective effort of all participating organizations, whose tangible benefits continue to attract new collaborators due to the high added value generated by connecting talent with the current needs of the logistics-port sector. Medina also took the opportunity to review other initiatives under the umbrella of the “Algeciras Port Digital Academy”, such as the Expert Course in Digital Transformation Applied to Port Logistics, in collaboration with the University of Cádiz; the Port of Algeciras’ role as a 5G training center for the province of Cádiz, in partnership with the Andalusian Government and Vodafone; and the future digital training ecosystem represented by the Digital Innovation Center of the Port of Algeciras Bay.
Attendees also had the chance to learn firsthand about the results of the second edition through Paco Saucedo, APBA’s Head of Information Systems and coordinator of the initiative, who encouraged students to take full advantage of this unique opportunity and to delve into the leadership of the logistics-port business in the Bay of Algeciras.
The second half of the event began with presentations of training offerings by participating educational centers. David Rodríguez and Daniel Suero, students from IES Saladillo, introduced the advanced vocational training program “Multiplatform Application Development” offered at their school. Meanwhile, Víctor Tello, a teacher at IES Kursaal, presented the “Web Application Development” program and the specialization course in “Cybersecurity in IT Environments” offered by his school.
Representatives from companies that participated in the second edition were also present, including Roberto Andrades, Senior TOS Support at APM Terminals Algeciras; Alejandro Sánchez, Software Engineer at Maersk Technology; Carlos Navas, Automation & Development Engineer at TTIA; Cristina Galán, Project Manager at NextPort.AI; Juan Antonio Pavón, Full-Stack Developer at Prodevelop; and Carlos García, Head of the Southern Agency at Sopra Steria.
New organizations joining this third edition include Balearia, Babel, Getronics, and OnNet Center, represented by Juan Javier Corrales, Head of IT at Balearia; Fran Merchán, Business Manager at Babel; Alfonso López, PMO Practice Leader at Getronics; and Francisco Clemente, CEO of OnNet Center.
All of them shared their organizations’ innovative visions, their commitment to the development of digital training, and their enthusiasm for contributing to the promotion of talent within the logistics-port ecosystem of the region.
Finally, the event concluded with the awarding of prizes for the best Final Degree Projects (TFG) of the previous academic year, named “Algeciras Tech Talent,” to students Alejandro Aguilar from IES Saladillo and Jemuel Agsaway from IES Kursaal, for their projects “Tasty Dash” and “Transit System Module,” respectively.
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