Dear friends at Fundación Exit,

This 2023–2024 academic year, we have faced a threefold challenge: continuing to develop the methodology of our new career guidance program, increasing the number of young participants from 40 last year to 200 this year and completing the first version of our project management platform, “GenExit” (thanks to funding from the Next Generation EU program).

All of this has been in addition to our efforts to support the growth of the Creamos Oportunidades en Hostelería program by Fundación Mahou San Miguel (expanding to new cities) and to strengthen the Incorpora program led by Fundación La Caixa.

We are closing out the year pleased with the results achieved, celebrating our successes while, as always, reflecting on the areas where we can improve. Looking ahead, we would like to highlight a new challenge that, due to its scale, is a challenge for the entire country. Under the new Vocational Education and Training (VET) law, all VET in Spain will become dual. This means that part of the training will take place at educational institutions and part within companies themselves.

Conceptually, this is a very positive step. Spain continues to lead the EU in youth unemployment and early school leaving rates, while many companies report struggling to find the talent they need. The job market is evolving quickly, and no one is better positioned than companies themselves to provide training aligned with real-world needs.

However, considering that in the 2022–2023 academic year only 5% of students were enrolled in Dual VET, it is clear that this transition will require a major shift in mindset, especially within the business community. In conversations with companies, we have seen growing interest in higher-level VET students, more hesitation around mid-level students, and very limited interest in those in basic-level programs.

Staying true to our mission of creating opportunities for those who face the greatest barriers, we are committing to supporting the dualization of Basic Level VET over the coming years.

As you know, we believe in shared challenges, so we invite you to join us in offering these young people an opportunity that could truly change their lives. Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Nacho Sequeira

Director of Fundación Exit