The Formentera Council's Office of Social Welfare reports that the Formentera Day Centre will host Tramuntana VI, a course on care for dependent individuals in social institutions. Chosen by eight students, explained department head Vanessa Parellada, this course of study can ultimately lead to accreditation to enable its holder to work in the island's future residence”.

Students on this path learn how to care for dependent people within the institutions where they are employed, applying strategies to maintain and enhance personal autonomy and care-recipients' ability to relate to their surroundings.

The course ran from March and December. It will finish tomorrow. The training programme consisted of 370 hours of in-class learning and 1,422 hours of paid work practice, for which the students received a monthly stipend of roughly €1,000. Participants also paid into social security during training.

The project, valued at €134,295, was paid for with €128,580 and €11,120 in funding from the job service of the Balearic Islands (SOIB) and the Formentera Council. The interns were asked to work in the Day Centre and the island's home assistance initiative and received guidance from an individual who filled a joint charge as docent and course director.

Additional training
More instruction for carers of dependent individuals within social institutions is included in SOIB's programme for the unemployed. Nine islanders are taking part in the intensive course, which entails 370 hours of in-class learning and 80 hours of work practice and concludes in February or March. That SOIB-funded initiative is valued at €24,600. Students who successfully complete the programme will be accredited to provide care in the social sector. The only difference between the two courses is their length: one runs three months and the other, ten. Plus, students of the second course perform only the required hours of work practice, hence, there is no compensation.

All those interested in receiving training as a caregiver in the social sector should visit the Office of Social Welfare for details on future training programmes. In fact another course —Tramuntana VII— is already in the works and on track for a February or March start. Besides an age restriction —participation will be limited to students over 30— the characteristics of the course are the same. Ten paid spots will be offered. That programme's price tag is €120,510, paid for by SOIB (€115,319) and the Council (€5,191.20).

The Formentera Council's department of security applauds the Govern and the Balearic Islands parliamentary body for moving, December 5, to advance a July 17 piece of legislation on coordination of local law enforcement in the islands. Special thanks go to Formentera's provincial councillor, Silvia Tur, for championing an additional provision officials say will be a milestone in how the police coordinate their efforts on the island.

According to the amended text, Formentera's unique position —with an island council in charge of one municipality's governance, and the correlated overextension of the local law enforcement agencies— means the Govern, as keeper of the political autonomy and inter-island relations encapsulated in the Balearic autonomy statutes, must offer additional administrative, technical and managerial support for the island's police.

The Govern's assistance must be brought to bear to ensure local law enforcement get the resources they require in excess of what the law already provides. In recent years, despite housing options, comparable pay and available positions on the force, Formentera police have remained understaffed. Police academy graduates give their preferred picks for their assignment locations, and in light of burgeoning demand across the Balearics, precious few choose Formentera. Thanks to repeated opposition from Madrid's delegate to the island and the Partido Popular, uncertainty continues to cloud the legal fate of full-time positions created to sweeten the deal for Formentera-based officers.

Now, with the updated law and the special provision, Formentera has yet another instrument to guarantee it can attract new officers. Department head Bartomeu Escandell thanked regional institutions “for hearing our island's appeal for more police,” saying: “The Govern has taken steps to commit the resources our island's police force deserves”. The councillor also announced that with the new law's entry in force, Formentera will open a call for six new police officers, double the current number.