With nearly 800 activities, the initiative improved on last year’s figures with an 11.6% increase in the number of students and 17.14% in the number of education centres taking part, 47% of them publicly operated and 53% of them state-subsidised private schools. Some 71.7% of secondary schools and teaching centres were based in Barcelona, while 28.9% were in other municipalities in the metropolitan area.

In terms of age, the largest number of participants were in their fourth year of secondary education (36%), vocational training courses (20%) and higher vocational training courses (20%), in stages of education linked to higher education or access to the labour market.

The monographic sessions attracted the largest demand, with 14,000 students taking part. The most popular offered support with self-awareness to identify the most suitable professional fields matching students’ interests, particularly among fourth-year secondary school pupils, who often do not have the tools to recognise their motivation and link them to the professional openings and training options available.

In this edition, the introduction of artificial intelligence and virtual reality bolstered the positive impact of the monographic sessions. On one hand, the update to the catalogue of 1,700 jobs on the Barcelona Activa website and the introduction of a new virtual assistant helped to identify the study options and centres offering training paths to access professional fields of interest. On the other, virtual reality offered the possibility of training through experience to tackle job interviews. The good results achieved with this tool mean that in the next academic year it can also be applied to training in cross-cutting skills. An escape room was also offered to identify the dynamics of recruitment processes, and tours organised at Port de Barcelona

This academic year also saw company participation increase, with visits to discover their activity and options linked to the social and solidarity economy, a growth sector consolidated as strategic in terms of quality employment.

Teaching staff and careers advisors took part in the project through a summer school during the first week of July, with a training programme to discover new methodologies and tools in the sector, as well as the latest in job opportunities for young people.