The event organised by the Unió Empresarial de l'Anoia was held under the motto “Training, Talent and Business: Strategies for the Future”

More than 250 people filled the Teatre Municipal l'Ateneu in Igualada at a new edition of the Anoia Business Forum, which this year reached its ninth edition under the motto “Training, Talent and Business: Strategies for the Future”. The event, organised by the Unió Empresarial de l'Anoia (UEA), highlighted one of the most frequently voiced concerns of the business fabric: the growing difficulty in finding qualified staff and the urgent need to strengthen the connection between education and business.

Two round tables were held at the event. The first brought together companies that are struggling to find qualified staff. Moderated by Genís Roca, an expert in digital transformation and business strategy, the speakers were: Meritxell García, head of Human Resources at Funosa; Eva Sánchez Gil, plant director of Universal Enclosures de Catalunya (Molins de Rei, Sant Boi de Llobregat and Capellades) at Schneider Electric; Bernat Vilarrubias, president of Leather Cluster Barcelona; and Marc Mora, CEO of Almazan Roig.

In his contribution to the round table, Bernat Vilarrubias, president of Leather Cluster Barcelona, spoke of the difficulty, in the leather sector too, of attracting talent, especially in the more technical professional profiles.

As regards the connection between education and business, the cluster's president stressed that the leather industry has been a pioneer in university education in the Anoia county, since Igualada has had a university centre specialising in leather from 1958 onwards, which has become an international benchmark for the sector, training students from more than 40 countries. This training, which began at the Escola Superior de Teneria in Igualada, has for some years now continued at the Igualada-UdL University Campus, where students can undertake comprehensive and highly specific training in the world of leather: engineering, master's degree and doctorate.

During his presentation, Bernat Vilarrubias championed leather as a modern sector and a very attractive one to work in. A significant proportion of the customers of the tanneries that are members of Leather Cluster Barcelona are the major international brands of high-quality leather articles and of fashion and luxury accessories. In this regard, these tanneries play a fundamental role in the productive transformation process of the fashion industry, because they support their customers in developing the products they need and are key players in their value chain.

To conclude his contribution, the president of Leather Cluster Barcelona stressed the importance of giving greater visibility to the leather sector in order to attract more talent.

Once again, the Anoia Business Forum proved to be a key meeting point for sharing concerns, comparing diagnoses and promoting strategies to guarantee the future of talent in the county. The great response from the public –with more than 250 people— confirms the concern and the interest of the business fabric in tackling this collective challenge with determination.

Leather Cluster Barcelona is an environment of competitive cooperation for promoting cross-cutting, transformative strategic projects with the aim of driving the ecosystem of the Catalan leather sector within the framework of Shared Value policies. The cluster is an entity accredited under the Catalonia Clusters programme and is supported by Acció.