• The 11 Local Action Groups responsible for the project held a conference with conclusions about their activities.
• The Platform has managed 2,300 job offers on a website with more than 6,500 registered people and 10,500 registered companies.

The continued revitalization of rural areas and the success of LEADER projects depend on the creation and implementation of cooperative projects between different Local Action Groups ( LAGs ). This fact, currently being studied by the European Commission (EC) , is evident in projects that generate synergies between different territories, even within the same autonomous community.

On September 26, the "Conclusions Conference of the regional cooperation project +Businesses +Employment +Rural" was held in Medina de Rioseco (Valladolid), where the project leaders presented the results after three years of operation.

The " +Companies +Employment +Rural" project was launched in 2021 thanks to the initiative of 11 GALs (Laboratories) in Castilla y León who decided to join forces. Thanks to this, "Empleo Rural" (Rural Employment) , a job management portal for that region, was launched in 2022.

In its conclusions, the project highlights that it has become "a benchmark for rural areas" in Spain, as it is "the first comprehensive platform for employment resources in rural areas", an approach that earned them the ARIA 2023 "Agrarian and Rural Inspiration" award from the European CAP Network. on the topic of “Socioeconomic fabric of rural areas”.

In addition to the employment portal, "+Empresas +Empleo +Rural" leads technological innovation initiatives and supports the business community of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Project results

The project's greatest achievement is the creation of the platform, which features:

• 6,500 people registered as job seekers.
• 10,500 registered companies offering employment.
• 2,300 job offers managed throughout its activity.

In order to promote citizen participation and cooperation in improving rural governance, the following actions have been carried out:

• Training activities for nearly 700 companies in digital transformation.
• Entrepreneurship activities in the different regions of Castilla y León in which more than 1,500 young people have taken part.

The event also reviewed the challenges these GALs face in the future, such as rural employment in the autonomous community and opportunities for rural entrepreneurship. These challenges were discussed at a roundtable discussion with professionals from the livestock, consulting, animal health, and agri-food sectors in the region.

Partners and financing

The project is coordinated by the Valladolid-based LAG (Association Collective for Rural Development of Tierra de Campos ), and is made up of the LAGs ( Segovia Sur Association ), Honorse Tierra de Pinares , and CODINSE (Segovia); the Soria Lands of the Cid Association (Soria), AGALSA , ADECOAR , and CEDER Merindades (Burgos); the Cuatro Valles Association and POEDA (León); and ADECOCIR (Salamanca).

It has received public funding through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development ( EAFRD ) of the European Union (80%), 14% from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development of the Junta de Castilla y León and 6% from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food .