SEAT signs collaboration agreements with Universities to support Automotive Engineering degrees

SEAT has signed cooperation agreements with the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and the University of Vic-Central Catalonia University (UVic-UCC) to collaborate in the Automotive Engineering degrees that both institutions are offering this year for the first time. With these collaborations in a university environment, the company takes a step further in its ongoing commitment to youth training through dual vocational training and various agreements with business schools.

Through both agreements, five students from each university will have the opportunity to carry out practical training at SEAT in their final year of studies. In this way, they will get their first professional experience in the automotive sector at the only company which designs, develops, makes and markets vehicles in Spain.

Signed today by SEAT Vice-president for Human Resources Xavier Ros and UPC and UVic-UCC rectors Enric Fossas and Jordi Montaña, the agreements also provide for SEAT professionals to give master classes and arrange training sessions at the universities. In addition, several student visits to the company’s facilities will be arranged during the term to enable them to gain first-hand knowledge of the various aspects of vehicle development and manufacturing.

According to Xavier Ros, “these agreements strengthen SEAT commitment to training at all levels and to promoting young talent. Our priority is to contribute to the education of future industry specialists in a real-world productive environment. This kind of exchange of knowledge and experience will certainly be very positive for all parties, as today’s students will be responsible for making the company and the sector continue to grow in the future”.

Enric Fossas underlined that “this collaboration implies expanding the already significant interaction the UPC has established with SEAT through a teaching chair and the CARNET project, an international cooperation platform with industry aimed at developing new technological solutions and concepts in the field of mobility. This agreement is in the context of the close connection between studying at the University and the real world industrial fabric that characterises the degree offered by the Advanced Polytechnic School of Manresa (EPSEM) and the Advanced Technical School of Engineering of Barcelona (ETSEIB)”.

Furthermore, Jordi Montaña explained that “we are extremely pleased with the agreement with SEAT, as it further demonstrates the University’s commitment to dual vocational training. The Automotive Engineering degree offered by UVic-UCC is much more practical than any conventional degree, as we feel it is basic that future automotive engineers should be familiar with companies while they receive their education”.

Ongoing commitment to young talent
With more than 14,500 employees, SEAT is the main generator of employment in the automotive sector in Spain and one of the largest in the country. Among its workers, 24% are millennials, which demonstrates the company’s strong involvement with youth employment.

SEAT’s commitment to the training of young professionals goes back more than 60 years, when the SEAT Apprentice School was founded, one of the benchmark institutions in Dual Vocational Training in Spain. At the same time, the company cooperates with other vocational training centres by providing them with vehicles and technological material so that students can further their practical education.

In addition, SEAT has agreements with business schools such as ESADE and IESE, among others, with which it develops different actions to enhance the skills of future executives.