On September 25, 68 students began four new vocational courses in Tunuyán: Professional Driver Licensing, Park & Garden Maintenance, Solar Panel Installation and Forklift Operation. The courses run through December 11.
The training is supported by The Vines Foundation together with local private-sector partners, including Piedra Negra and La Morada Lodge, and in collaboration with the Municipality of Tunuyán, the Instituto de Educación Superior Valle de Uco and the Escuela de Oficios.
For Federico, who enrolled in the Solar Panel Installation course, the reason for signing up was straightforward: he wants to learn a trade and create new possibilities for work.
That is the opportunity at the center of this new round of training. A professional driver’s license, forklift certification, knowledge of solar systems or experience in parks and gardens can be useful across hospitality and wine, but also in logistics, agriculture, construction, services and independent work.
The range is intentional. As the Foundation gains more experience in vocational education, the focus is increasingly on what will be useful once the course is over: which skills employers are looking for, where opportunities already exist, and which training can give someone more than one possible direction.
Each new group also gives us more information for the future Community Center & Vocational School. The aim is not simply to fill classrooms. It is to offer training that makes sense for the people taking it and for the economy they will enter when they leave.
