Letter from the president - October 2016

Although the high season still has not finished, many of us need to be strong and pay attention to our customers and attend the different boat shows that will be celebrated in the next months. Like the one in Monaco, that finished not long ago. And according to the Balearic companies that participated, it had an excellent rating. Tere will also be another boat show in Barcelona, that will be celebrated in less than two weeks. On the other hand, in our island, the yacht sector awakes again eternal debates like the posidonia. From our part, in AENIB, we continue focused on vocational studies and professional qualifications for the workers of the sector. 

A few days ago, an editorial from one of the newspapers with largest circulation in Mallorca, pointed out that the general director of Natural Spaces and Biodiversity had been ceased from her position. It was because she was inactive when chasing indiscriminate anchoring in posidonia meadows. We do not know if it is an exaggeration of the newspaper, or if it is one of the reasons to cease her. If it was the last case, we do not know where is this data taken from, because the posidonia anchorings are an exception in our sector. It is unfair that people judge one collective for the mistakes of a few. And if any political and simplistic decision would be taken to legislate against anchoring in general, they would be destroying years of work and effort. Not only from the own administration, but also for thousands of people that fight every day to keep recreational yachting to the highest possible level. 

We vindicate from AENIB that yachting should stop being considered as a scapegoat of this problem, and we should start thinking what is the main reason that makes our waters lose quality: the waste on land and the pollution that produce the wastewater emmisaries that are poorly treated. 

From our association, we continue working regarding professional qualification in the sector, and we are also selecting the teachers and training for the evaluators. This way, we can inform you that the call to set up evaluators and assessors for the process to certify experience competences, finished on the 27th of September. The expected response was not achieved (for many reasons). The aim was that the productive sector belonged to the evaluating committee. Only the branches of electricity/electronics could file an application.  

Our effort as association is to inform and concentiate that the workers of the different companies that belong to the yacht sector request to become part of the certification process. The workers are professionnel in their area thanks to years of experience, but they do not have an official certification. This way, they will have the option to certify this experience. It is very important to take profit of this certification opportunity, because the target at short term is to regulate the activities of the yacht sector. This means that it will be indispensable to have a professional qualification to be able to perform the activity.

Thus, from AENIB we are working with the Administration to ease the access to the process to all the workers of the associated companies. The objectives are to simplify beurecracy and request any call that may be needed to get to all the professionals of the sector. 

On the other hand, the last 29th of September, we had the pleasure to participate in the presentation of the new dual training cycle in the Chamber of Commerce, together with the representatives of the public administrations. As I said during my intervention, our professionals are the most precious resource at our disposal, and for this reason, we need vocational training with quality content to provide the present needs of the sector. This vocational course is a big step to achieve it, but from the AENIB we will keep working to extend the up to date training offer. 

Last week, the Monaco Yacht Show ended. The companies from our islands shone out. Our associate, Astilleros de Mallorca, that participated together with STP, Port Adriano and Marina Ibiza in a common space named Balearic Yacht Destination, have explained that this year the visits to the boat show and the sales activities have increased. As the charter has rised in our islands in the last years, it is making that that the Balearic pruduct is gaining protagonism at a good rhythm in this type of boat shows. Besides, we have to point out the support received from the APB, Ports IB and the Chamber of Commerce. They have backed the companies of our islands that have been present in Monaco. 

In less than two weeks, one of the most important events of our sector at a national scale will be celebrated: the Barcelona Boat Show. As usual, ANEN has organized a schedule of activities during the Boat Show, which include workshops and meetings about the last novelties related to the sector. I would like to express in this sense our congratulations to ANEN for the great job they do year by year in Barcelona. We believe that those activities can be very useful for you in your day-to-day as businessmen, and, for this reason we recommend you to attend the ones you consider suitable. In the section of brief news, we provide you a link to the mentioned schedule.