Vocational Training (FP) in the Canary Islands has transitioned from a secondary option to a primary pathway for many students seeking to enter the job market. The Health Sciences professional family is leading this trend, recording unprecedented demand with 8,808 applications for the 3,160 places offered across the archipelago for the current academic year. This indicates a need for 5,648 additional places to meet the volume of requests.
This professional family includes intermediate and higher-level vocational courses, such as Auxiliary Nursing Care, Health Emergencies, Pharmacy and Parapharmacy, Pathological Anatomy and Cytodiagnosis, Prosthetic Audiology, Dietetics, Health Documentation and Administration, Oral Hygiene, and Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine. Despite the high demand, there are still 65 unfilled places distributed across the islands, with variations: Gran Canaria (30), Tenerife (17), La Gomera (11), El Hierro (7), Lanzarote (4), and La Palma (3), while Fuerteventura has a deficit of seven places.
Globally, FP in the Canary Islands has received 39,209 first-choice applications for 32,525 places. Following Health Sciences, the Administration and Management family is the second most popular, with 4,723 applications for 4,476 places, showing a much smaller gap. This family includes basic, intermediate, and higher-level courses, and introduces a new dual-qualification model allowing students to earn two degrees in three years, starting with Administration and Finance and Executive Assistance.
The third most successful family is Sociocultural and Community Services, with 4,682 applications compared to 4,569 places. The high demand for the higher-level course in Early Childhood Education is notable, with 1,244 applications island-wide, 591 of which are in Gran Canaria.
Other professional families with significant imbalances between supply and demand include Physical and Sports Activities (2,164 applications for 1,237 places, 927 more than offered) and Vehicle Transport and Maintenance (2,111 applications for 1,596 places, requiring 515 more). On the other hand, Graphic Arts is the least demanded family, with 78 applications for 120 places, including courses like Digital Pre-press and Graphic Production Design and Management, as well as the new dual qualification.
The Wood, Furniture, and Cork family has 171 applications for 304 places, with 91 vacancies. Chemistry, despite 187 applications, exceeds the 160 places offered. Families such as Mechanical Manufacturing (467 applications for 420 places) and Maritime-Fishing (606 for 330) also show demand exceeding supply. The central islands, Tenerife and Gran Canaria, concentrate most of the vacancies.
