The Provincial Director of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE), Jorge Vera, highlighted in an interview on Radio Nacional de España the importance of the new call for vocational training programs for employment, promoted by the SEPE, “because without training today it is almost impossible to work”.
Two calls totaling more than three million euros
Vera explained that this second call for applications in 2025 has an allocation of around one and a half million euros, which brings the total investment in vocational training for employment to more than three million euros.
Added to this figure are the TandEM programs, which also include training, reaching more than five and a half million euros aimed at improving the qualification of job seekers in the city.
4,500 people without qualifications
During the interview, the provincial head of the SEPE shared the latest data from the Observatory of Occupations, which reveal that 4,500 job seekers in Melilla lack training or only have a certificate of schooling.
“We can fight a lot to reduce unemployment figures, but it would be almost impossible to lower the 5,000 unemployed while there are thousands of people without training,” said Vera. “If we do not get those 4,500 people to get a qualification that opens the door to a job, we will never be able to reach those full employment figures,” he added.
Training to combat long-term unemployment
The Provincial Director has also pointed out that in Melilla there are currently 4,300 people in long-term unemployment, and that both groups (people without training and long-term unemployed) are closely related.
“All long-term unemployed are not people without qualifications, but most of those who do not have training are long-term unemployed,” he said. “That is a reflection that we must take very much into account: without training there is no employment, and that is why this type of program is fundamental,” he stressed.
A structural and priority programme
Vera has insisted that vocational training programs for employment are structural and strategic for the future of the city, as they improve employability and offer new opportunities to job seekers.
“This is one of the most important tasks we have in Melilla. Training is the key to opening the door to employment and to building a stronger labour market with more opportunities for all”, he concluded.