Today in the plenary hall of the Formentera Council, councillor of commerce Alejandra Ferrer and Pep Mayans, president of the Formentera small and medium-sized business association (PIMEEF), handed out certificates of achievement to students of the PIMEEF's Council-sponsored courses. Some 130 individuals participated in the training sessions, which spanned ten days and were designed to improve students' skills in retail work settings, leadership and tourist customer service. Additional courses were focused on traditional Formentera pastry-making and cocktails.

According to Councillor Ferrer, the courses were aimed at “providing workers and tradesmen training opportunities to improve the services offered to visitors and residents.” In the councillor's words, the initiative is “less about infrastructural improvements and more about bettering the quality of services provided.” The PIMEEF president thanked participants for taking part in the training and stressed the importance of promoting such opportunities on the island. The Council has provided €15,000 in funding for the courses. 

The Formentera Council's Office of Trade and the Patronat de Turisme, Formentera's tourism advisory board, are in the final stages of a process that will put a database of tourism professionals within the reach of the island's business community. The goal of the process, which is being carried out across the turijobs.com jobseekers' portal, is to put Formentera tradesmen in touch with qualified professionals to fill 130 vacant positions in tourism establishments on the island.

Said Ferrer: “We are announcing a new, extended deadline (until April 30) to give Formentera residents interested in being considered for the database enough time to sign up.” Ferrer explained that if sufficient demand exists, a day of selections will be organised on the island to put jobseekers in direct contact with employers. Interested individuals can register on www.turijobs.com/minisites/formentera, where a section of the site is exclusively available to Formentera residents.

At the end of March, 9,114 individuals had uploaded CVs to the turijobs site. The applicants whose profiles best matched the offers took part in staff selection days in Madrid, Sevilla, Bilbao and Barcelona from April 4-7. Suitable candidates will form the basis of the database of experienced tourism professionals.

It's important to bear in mind that the actual hiring process will be conducted by each individual business, though the Council has offered to share its technical expertise if employers wish to conduct video interviews, for example. The initiative benefits from the support of the Eivissa-Formentera chamber of commerce and the Pitiüsa islands' federation of SMEs (PIMEEF). Councillor Ferrer called the project “pioneering” in Europe and referred to its potential to “set Formentera apart as a quality destination for tourists”.

In a press conference today, the Office of Tourism of the Formentera Council unveiled plans for the fourth Formentera 2.0, a series of conferences slated to take place May 5–8. The presentation was attended by Alejandra Ferrer, CiF tourism councillor, Carlos Bernús, head of the tourism advisory board and Rosa Castells, organiser of the event. The series, noted Ferrer, is part of a campaign dubbed Descobreix Formentera al maig (Discover Formentera in May), a push to attract tourists with special programming in the off-season. The councillor also talked about the potential of such an event to “put Formentera at the centre of the buzz surrounding information technologies and social media,” a possibility she hailed as “very good for tourism.”

According to organiser Rosa Castells, Formentera 2.0 has become a benchmark for IT-related events and includes high-calibre contributing speakers. Among the renowned speakers participating in talks this year are Salvatella founder Genís Roca; director of digital and social media at Iberdrola, Carlos Fernández Guerra; Gestmusic director Tinet Rubiera; director of digital marketing at Banco Santander, Sofia Mayoral; IT digital manager of FC Barcelona, Abraham Clotet; Naciódigital.cat director Karma Peiró; one of the founders of Vasava, Toni Sellés and Marketingdirecto.com director Javier Piedrahita.

Networking and experience-sharing

Also noteworthy, said Castells, are the high skill levels of participants, a factor that has allowed the conferences to become “places of experience-sharing and networking”. Over the 4-day course speakers and attendees will go in-depth on important subjects like digital transformation, social media and branded content, television, social networks and “360º creativity”.

Formentera 2.0 is sponsored by the Formentera Council and the Patronat de Turisme, the island’s tourism advisory board. Included in registration (€220) are entry to all associated events and discounted accommodation. For more information, contact www.esfreus.com

Updates can also be found at www.formentera20.com

The Formentera Council Office of Tourism has issued details about the Formentera Fotogràfica festival. In a presentation this morning on the upcoming fourth year of the festival, tourism councillor Alejandra Ferrer announced: “Renowned photographers from the national and international stages will once again take part in Formentera Fotogràfica, placing our island in the line of sight of anyone involved in the world of photography”. What is more, the councillor said the festival would be included in Formentera's calendar of off-season events.

Festival organiser Francesc Fàbregas called on fans of photography, multimedia and videos to participate in the event. “Come out and enjoy magical Formentera,” he said, “and share your experiences with a wide range of photo industry professionals”. Registration for Formentera Fotogràfica costs 250 euros and can be done at formenterafotografica.com. The festival runs April 28 to May 1.

“Formentera Fotogràfica is an eclectic event that encompasses numerous specialty areas. Over four days, conferences, workshops, hands-on activities, screenings and low-key gatherings will serve as an opportunity for professionals and participants to meet and share their experiences,” added Fàbregas.

Invitation to Formentera residents

One of the goals of Formentera Fotogràfica organisers is also to grab the attention of Formentera residents. With island locals in mind, this year's festival will include an open-house screening of a documentary by Tony Catany, Thursday April 28 at 10.00 pm. In addition, Sunday May 1 at 12 noon, residents are invited to attend a free screening of a documentary by Joana Biarnès and Silvia Omedes.