School for the future

They want active jobs – and they’re perfectly happy to roll up their sleeves and get to work. They’re prepared to lay tiles, work with tools, put on workmen’s overalls, or a lab coat. Whatever it takes for a different life, a professional life – and they won’t stand for any narrow-minded ideas that may get in the way. We are talking about the pupils and teachers of a school that began in a totally unlikely place and which today stands as an example for the whole region.

They number around 200 young people – and they come from all over the Algarve, the Alentejo, the Azores and even from Cape Verde. “When they finish their courses, they have a European Union Level III school certificate (equivalent to the 12th year) and a professional qualification. They’re pupils who’ve taken courses in tourism, commerce, food quality control and processing, business studies and IT programming, graphic design and various types of civil construction (design/project management),” explains Aníbal Coelho, director and one of the leading lights in this educational institution.

Mainly, pupils arrive here looking for an alternative to traditional education - a system which involves teaching and learning by rote (the bulk of material being of no practical use whatsoever and destined for oblivion). It’s a form of teaching that leaves Aníbal Coelho non-plussed. “Right now, the job market needs people who know how to do things. It needs dynamic people: people able to communicate, use their initiative, multi-taskers who can work things out, who can cope with frustration and find solutions,” he explained.

“Here we pride ourselves on practical teaching in the context of the workplace – and throughout the year we organise study trips to places of interest in our various areas of training. For example, a pupil studying commerce has to know and have contact with companies.”

Equally, in an economy that is ever more competitive and complex, the companies themselves are receptive to these trainees. “When companies open their doors they’re opening a line of communication with a potential future employee. They’re also selling their commercial strategy and their products,” Coelho continues.

“When they finish their studies, our pupils can find work. On average, we have an 80 per cent employment rate – but there are also many young people who go on to university. The results that pupils can achieve here allow them to go on with their studies despite the fact that our objective is always to prepare youngsters for the job market,” he adds.

The secret of the school’s success lies with its teaching staff, Coelho explains. “We’ve a team of staff that has worked with these dynamics for a number of years now. They’ve fine-tuned the way they work. They know what it takes, what they need to do to get the best out of their pupils. And from there, it’s a matter of matching the needs of the job market with the needs of the young people and their families who seek us out.”

The last school year had to adapt itself around the new building. It consists of more than 3.000 m² of covered premises, on two floors, comprising 9 classrooms, a library, a modern IT room, a 118-seat auditorium and, outside, a car parking area and external landscape features.

Building work cost around two million euros – of which 1.6 million were funded by Loulé Town Council and the rest via EU funds for regional development (FEDER). At a time when desertification and migration from the interior Algarve has begun to become a real problem, the Cândido Guerreiro Professional School is an example which provides the antidote to a sad Portuguese reality.

“Yes, it’s true! The school even creates jobs itself, as it requires ancillary workers and administrators. Right now, it permanently employs around 50 people. In addition, it motivates the public at large to invest here – and that influences everything else. Where do you find a local authority in this country willing to invest a million euros in a school building project in a village like this? Now, the challenge that lies ahead is to consolidate and maintain the way we’ve managed to work for many years to come,” Coelho tells.

And, with regards to the future, the director is optimistic. “The fact that pupils are coming to the interior also brings with it comparative advantages to schools in urban centres. The relative isolation here allows them to concentrate better. There are fewer things to catch their attention – and, also of course, they’re here full-time! They’re collected in the mornings from where they live and returned there at the end of the day.” The school is financed by the European Social Fund. Until last year, pupils paid monthly fees of €24.49, but received a food allowance paid according to how often they took advantage of it. If pupils required accommodation, the school also gave financial help. But this year the rules are changing with the advent of new European protocols. The school will still supply all teaching materials. Textbooks are all compiled by the course lecturers. No-one needs to spend a fortune on books and manuals: pupils just need to buy their pencils and paper. Everything else is supplied.

“Since last May, we’ve also been running a New Opportunities Centre”, Coelho informs us. What’s that? “Imagine someone who’s worked as a printer for many years. He knows everything about inks and printing processes. Maybe he’s become familiar with new technologies and computers in the last few years. He may have been educated up to secondary school level… but to have his capacity and experience recognized is a huge problem. If it was up to the scholastic system, he’d most likely be told to take night classes and goodness knows what. This system is much easier. People sign themselves in, attend an initial interview and are then shown how to construct their own CV. In the old days, the only qualifications considered were those taken at school. Happily, that’s all starting to change. People learn and adapt throughout life. They’re obliged to learn in order to survive!”, he concludes.