The goal is to promote and facilitate English language learning in vocational training, adapting it to the demands of an increasingly globalised labour market
A total of 31 educational centres in the Balearic Islands —27 public and 4 publicly funded private institutions— that offer intermediate-level vocational training programs participated during the 2024–2025 academic year in the Foreign Language Support Plan run by the Regional Ministry of Education and Universities.
This program, launched as a pilot plan in the 2021–2022 academic year, aims to promote and support the learning of a foreign language (English) within the framework of vocational education, to adapt training to the needs of a labour market that is becoming more and more globalised. Since its inception, the initiative has expanded progressively, growing from 19 groups in 16 centres to the current 145 groups in 31 centres in just four years.
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31 Vocational Training Centres in the Balearic Islands Participated This Year in the Foreign Language Support Plan
Steady Growth in Participation and Range of Programs
In the 2021–2022 academic year, 16 schools took part, offering 19 groups across 6 vocational training programs from the professional families of Administration and Management, Commerce and Marketing, Hospitality and Tourism, Maritime-Fishing, and Transport and Vehicle Maintenance.
In the 2022–2023 school year, participation increased to 24 centres and a total of 59 groups, 40 more than the previous year. Two new programs were added: one from the Electricity and Electronics family and another from Hospitality and Tourism.
In the 2023–2024 academic year, the project expanded again with the addition of 57 new groups and six new vocational training programs from the professional families of Healthcare, Information and Communications Technology, Transport and Vehicle Maintenance, Image and Sound, and Electricity and Electronics. This brought the total to 116 groups across 14 programs in 31 centres.
Finally, in the 2024–2025 academic year, the number of participating centres remained at 31, but the number of groups increased by 29, reaching a total of 145 groups.
Language Immersion Stays in Ireland
As part of this plan, language immersion scholarships are offered each year to both students and teachers, with the aim of enhancing their English communication skills and promoting multilingualism in vocational training. These scholarships are funded by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU funds under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (MRR), and have received an increasing number of applications each year.
This academic year, 108 students and 13 teachers enjoyed a language immersion stay in Ireland during the Easter holidays. Over two weeks, participants combined English classes with cultural and recreational activities in the cities of Dublin and Drogheda. Students were hosted by local families, while teachers stayed in a hotel.
EOIFP Program
In parallel, since the 2022–2023 academic year, the EOIFP program has been running, aimed at students of integrated vocational training centres (CIFP). This program facilitates access to official foreign language certification through exams at official language schools (EOI), thereby strengthening the language skills of future professionals.