The president of the Lanzarote Business Confederation (CEL), Beatriz Salazar, has met with the president of the Island Council, Oswaldo Betancort, to consolidate collaboration between both entities and establish new lines of work for the future. This meeting served to analyze the challenges facing the island and set the joint strategy.
"We have advanced in the joint strategy between both institutions, establishing the bases on how we will face the challenges facing the island," says the new president, Beatriz Salazar, who attended the meeting together with the vice president of the business organization, Francisco Martínez.
For his part, the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, highlighted "the Cabildo's commitment to strengthen collaboration with business organizations and work hand in hand with the representatives of each sector, since these entities have reliable knowledge of the needs and potential of Lanzarote's SMEs."
"I have always defended that public-private collaboration is the most effective way to build a strong business fabric together, because SMEs generate most of the employment in a productive system like the Canary Islands," he said, adding that this channel of dialogue is the "best way to transfer information to companies."
Salazar also thanks the Island Corporation for its willingness to collaborate and support Lanzarote's business community: "The voice of the island's entrepreneurs must be taken into account, as we are a key link for the island's society and the pillars on which the economy and employment are built."
The CEL also offered its services to the president of the Cabildo, Oswaldo Betancort, to collaborate in the five thematic groups that will be formed with representatives of the regional government, members of the island corporations and municipal delegates to address the main issues that the Canary Islands must respond to, such as access to housing or taxation and employment.
During the meeting, they discussed the projects that have been presented to the Cabildo in recent weeks, focusing on digitalization, sustainability or Dual Vocational Training. "We want Lanzarote to be an island adapted to the future, as is the business community that develops its activity on it; we know the lines that will define our work and, as a business organization, we have the responsibility to make it easier for our members to adapt to the new socio-economic ecosystem," defends the recently appointed president of the Confederation.
Likewise, the CEL was able to break down, together with Betancort, the particularities of Lanzarote with respect to the key issues for the economic and social fabric of the Canary Islands. In this framework, issues such as the challenge in access to housing for people with low incomes, employment and job placement and the need for training to adapt to the requirements of companies were addressed.
Beatriz Salazar made special emphasis on administrative simplification as a method to favor the evolution of businesses and the culmination of projects. "The construction of housing is a clear example of the difficulties faced by the business sector when it comes to undertaking; the delays in granting permits and the eternal bureaucracy have meant that the housing stock in Lanzarote and the rest of the islands has remained practically unchanged for years," she adds.
Finally, both highlighted the importance of continuing to advance together in the collaboration of the public and private sectors in order to advance in projects that generate employment.