The ikastola and the project of the same name have been underway since November 2011 in the Plaza de la Cantera de Bilbao La Vieja. The precursor was born ten years earlier in Portugalete: Ibar Ezkerra Lanbide Ikastola. There, they began to offer their studies in Professional Education in Euskera, until in 2011 the activity was transferred to Bilbao.

Further back, in 2004 the group of ikastolas publicly announced its intention to integrate into Vocational Training with a dual objective: on the one hand, to promote the normalization of the Basque Country in this area and, on the other, to disseminate the model of the ikastolas in the studies of Vocational Training. The seven Biscayan ikastolas took on these purposes and agreed to materialize the project in the Plaza de la Cantera de Bilbao; the Ikastola Betiko de Leioa, Abusu and Urretxindorra de Bilbao, Bihotz Gazteak de Santurtzi, Eiski Begik de Galdakao, Zubi Masbalopharra de Zaran. The grouped ikastolas created in 2006 the Harrobia Foundation, which owns the building of the ikastola Harrobia. For the future, it is intended that other ikastolas from Bizkaia will be integrated into the project.

As in its origin, the main objectives of the Foundation are two: Promote Vocational Training and “training and employment actions in Basque” and boost social economy enterprises. They also aim to investigate the situation of the Basque Country in post-compulsory education and the possibilities of employment insertion.

Active ageing

For the last two months, they have had in their hands a physical exercise program for the elderly. The professor at ikastola Harrobia Gorka Mutuberria is immersed in research, going from one side to the other to conferences and to get to know experiences. As explained to us, they are still at the beginning of the research, collecting all the bibliography and reviewing the existing programs both in the private and in the public sphere, to elaborate a concrete proposal once the study has been carried out.

“The first goal is to see how to apply physical exercise to older people, and then create our own program based on what we’ve seen and the experience we’ve had,” explains Mutuberria. A pilot programme shall be launched to test with small groups the techniques and tools envisaged for carrying out the test. “Once the conclusions have been drawn, the ultimate goal is to integrate the project into businesses and the public sector.” The implementation will start after the summer, and once the programme is established, it is planned to start training and to integrate as far as possible into businesses.

The Basque Government’s Centre for Innovation for Vocational Training, Tknika, is collaborating on this road. Among the objectives of Tknika is to strengthen the link between vocational training centres and companies, and that is precisely what Harrobia is trying to do.

As an Euskaldun training project aimed at people between the ages of 16 and 65 in Bizkaia, it offers professional training to jump into the world of work. Currently, vocational training for employment offers business-oriented training services and courses, including guidance services, training actions, entrepreneurship activities and collaboration with the public administration.

They also offer Higher Sports Cycle (Promotion of Physical and Sports Activities) and Medium Degree of Informatics (Microcomputer Systems and Networks).

Training

During the course of the research, as is usual in Harrobia, the training sessions given by the Basque Government will also take place. “We have experience in training courses, we teach health courses and physical exercise, such as strength workshops, cardiovascular training or special talks for people with spinal problems.”

However, so far there has never been a program aimed at the elderly, and Mutuberria has stressed that, being a “special group”, its peculiarities need to be taken into account.

As it usually happens in all groups, this group is not homogeneous either. It says that in physical exercise groups come together in the same class very different levels, which are often associated with health problems, metabolic problems, muscles and joints, for example. He says that for every person to have the actions they need, good management of that organization is essential. But also there, Mutuberria has less knowledge: “In many branches of the sports sector there is not much training in health and the supply is low.”

Need for cooperation

Among the professionals who can influence physical exercise for the elderly, there is a lack of consensus and lack of connection. This is the main conclusion of the experiences researched so far: “At this point we are very late. For society it is not a foreign issue, but in the private and public sphere the lack of training and ignorance is great”.

Mutuberria has highlighted the lack of base. For example, in Osakidetza they detect that they do not know how to manage the issue with the local council, and vice versa. “When we’ve been with doctors, many say they have trouble preparing the right physical exercises. We’re having conversations with them and with other professionals to know what each one’s role is,” he explained.

Dissemination of the project

“The priority of the Ibilaldia festival is to make our work known, because many do not know that there is a Vocational Training Ikastola,” said Mutuberria. He says it is essential to make known that the training and cycles are taught in Basque. “It can also be because it is a relatively new project that many do not know about us, so we would like people to know our work thanks to Ibilaldia and, by the way, to be able to open the doors to new projects.”

Two floors of the building in which it is located are empty and intend to use them through new activities to continue promoting the Basque Country and Vocational Training through the ikastolas. It is special that the connection between Vocational Training, the Basque Country and the world of work takes place within the movement of the ikastolas; therefore, Mutuberria has emphasized that Ibilaldia himself will be special.