At his meeting with Mr Escudero Márquez, the President of the Council of States highlighted Switzerland’s excellent diplomatic relations with Spain; high level meetings between the two countries are held regularly. In 2015, the President of the National Council, Stéphane Rossini, visited Madrid as part of his presidential tour, where he was received by his Spanish counterpart. The same year, the President of the Confederation, Simonetta Sommaruga, met with Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, and with the King of Spain, Felipe VI.
The Spanish speaker and his Swiss counterpart had detailed discussions about the systems of vocational and professional education and training in Switzerland and Spain and on the legislative powers of the Spanish Parliament on education matters. Given the high level of unemployment among young people in Spain, Mr Escudero Márquez displayed a keen interest in the Swiss dual education system. He stressed the importance for Spain of achieving a better balance between its numbers of university students and apprentices.
Following this meeting, the Speaker of the Spanish Senate met the President of the National Council, Jürg Stahl. Together they recalled the Olympic Games in Barcelona and the Universal Exposition of Seville in 1992, which were instrumental in the modernisation of infrastructure in both cities.
The Spanish delegation also held talks with members of the Federal Assembly’s Swiss-Spanish inter-parliamentary group, focusing on Spain’s relations with the European Union. In relation to the European political situation, the Speaker of the Spanish Senate reiterated that Brexit remained the main concern for Spain and that his country supported the timetable for the United Kingdom leaving the EU. Given the high number of British citizens resident in Spain, and Spanish citizens resident in the UK, the need for a reasonable settlement remains a priority for Madrid.
On 1 June, the Speaker of the Spanish Senate was welcomed by the management of the Centre professional du Littoral neuchâtelois (CPLN). The Spanish delegation learned more about the specifics of the Swiss dual system, which is based on a partnership between the Confederation, the cantons and the business community in which young people are trained in manner tailored to the needs of the world of employment. The delegation visited classrooms, laboratories and workshops in the school of arts and crafts (restaurant trade) and in the technical school (automation sector), and chatted to apprentices and students.
The CPLN is one of three vocational education centres in the canton of Neuchâtel. Each year 2,700 persons attend the school, either full-time and/or under the dual system (working for a business and attending school) and awards 740 certificates and degrees in 55 different fields.