Today Agbar's Water School received an award at the second edition of the FPCAT 2020 Awards, granted by the Government of Catalonia in recognition of good practices in the field of vocational training, in the category of companies and other entities. Manuel Cermerón, CEO of Agbar, received the award at the ceremony, which was attended by Josep Bargalló, Minister of Education of the Government of Catalonia, and Chakir El Homrani, Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Families.

Since 2012, The Water School - an Agbar institution created to share and transfer knowledge on water and the environment - has been promoting the development of Dual Vocational Training, a successful model of public-private collaboration, with the different public administrations and educational centers, with the aim of generating quality employment and improving the employability of young people. This commitment has made Agbar a benchmark in the sector, training since the beginning, through the Water School, more than 300 people in 20 companies of the group together with centers in Catalonia, Galicia, Madrid, Region of Murcia, Andalusia and the Canary Islands.

Manuel Cermerón, CEO of Agbar, highlighted the company's commitment to quality training: "The Water School is Agbar's vehicle for improving knowledge and technology in the field of water and the environment, and the aim is to make it a platform for the entire sector," he said.

In addition, he stressed that already in 2012 "the development of a specific curriculum for the water sector, which did not exist at that time, was launched", and that this has been done by promoting Dual Vocational Training from the beginning.

Finally, Agbar's CEO wanted to thank "the workers in the water sector for their commitment to guaranteeing the water supply throughout the pandemic".

This year, the awards ceremony, which took place at the Barcelona Labor School Institute and was broadcast live on the YouTube channel of the Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya, had several categories: Individual careers; Training centers -category in which two institutes with which Agbar collaborates, the Municipal School of Work of Granollers and the Esteve Terrades i Illa Institute of Cornella de Llobregat, have been awarded-; Companies and other entities -where the award to the Agbar Water School is included- and the Award to the individual career of the user of vocational training centers.