Sant Boi de Llobregat Town Council, the IL3-UB and Prologis partner in micro-credentials for the logistics industry
Since 2023, Sant Boi de Llobregat Town Council and the University of Barcelona Institute for Lifelong Learning (IL3-UB) have partnered to offer a micro-credentials programme to local logistics companies.
On Thursday 5 February, the event “The revolution in university micro-credentials” was held in recognition of the commitment shown by Sant Boi de Llobregat Town Council and the universities to promote micro-credentials within the municipality.
The event was opened by Sant Boi’s Deputy Mayor, José Ángel Carcelén, accompanied by Joan Guàrdia, Rector of the University of Barcelona (UB), and Francesc Torres, Rector of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech (UPC). And it was closed by the Government of Catalonia’s Minister for Research and Universities, Núria Montserrat. Representatives from the locally based companies Prologis, Carhaus (Volkswagen Group) and Vanderlande also attended.
Sant Boi de Llobregat, an example to follow
Sant Boi has pioneered the use of micro-credentials in Spain. The partnership between the Town Council and IL3-UB dates back to the end of 2022, when the Town Council responded to a training request from the company Prologis.
And it has evolved continuously since then: this Thursday, the graduates from the 3rd Logistics Training in Motion micro-credential, a course designed in partnership with Prologis to improve the industry’s employability, received their diplomas. In total, 239 people with work experience in the logistics industry have received training to broaden their knowledge. Cristian Oller, Prologis’ vice-president in charge of asset management in southern Europe, highlighted that 39% of the trainees, who were unemployed when they took the course, have already found jobs, and he welcomed the fact that more than 30% of the graduates have been women, who are still under-represented in the industry.
Subsequently, following on the success of this first micro-credential, new courses have been developed in collaboration with CITIMOB and the UPC, focused on emerging industries that are present in the municipality, such as sustainable mobility.
The connection between institutions
In his address, UB Rector Joan Guàrdia highlighted the success of this partnership between institutions and the private sector, stating that “public universities have the capacity to be a partner in the economic structure” and that “the public university system is absolutely determined to engage with the local territory”.
Along these lines, Joan Guàrdia and Francesc Torres, Rector of the UPC, spoke of a new era in which universities must look beyond academia and adapt to the realities of the world of work. Guàrdia reminded that universities perform “a fundamental role as a social ladder, serving the country and the community’s educational needs”. Micro-credentials perform a public service, insofar as they make university education accessible to more people.
In closing the event, Núria Montserrat, Government of Catalonia Minister for Research and Universities, echoed these sentiments and explained that they are working with Barcelona Provincial Council to take micro-credentials to the rest of the province and its municipalities.