The Cooperative Business Schoolan initiative of Globalcaja and Agro-food cooperatives Castilla-La Manchahas presented its first Cooperative Senior Management Programwhich seeks to promote the professionalization of agri-food cooperatives and thus contribute to greater competitiveness in the sector. This first promotion of Senior Management Program offers 25 places and opens your registration period tomorrow, November 28. The training will begin on January 23.
The president of the Cooperative Business School and general director of Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias Castilla-La Mancha, Juan Miguel del Realand the vice president of the School and director of Rural Banking at Globalcaja, Alberto Marcilla, They have emphasized in the presentation the efforts made by both entities so that this project becomes a permanent training space, aimed above all at management personnel and governing bodies of cooperatives throughout Spain. For its part, Carla AvilesDirector of Engagement at Globalcaja, and Lola Gallego, responsible for Training and Events of Agro-food Cooperatives, have detailed the content of this training.
Tools to face the challenges “We are living in a changing moment, with a lot of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, and that requires companies to be able to adapt and make decisions in the most professional way possible,” reflected Del Real, emphasizing the importance of offering this training to the management teams of cooperatives, providing them with tools that allow them to face challenges such as internationalization or digitalization. In Castile-La Manchadetailed the general director of Agro-food Cooperatives, there are 580 cooperativeswhich bring together 157,000 members“improving the professionalization and training of cooperatives will make them more profitable and with this we will also improve the profitability of the farms and the members, which are our reason for being.” Currently, the 30% of the cooperatives in Castilla-La Mancha They have professionalized management teams, with a common vector being that those that were pioneers in professionalizing their management and specializing in creating export teams have been the ones that have grown the most. “In this sector, the rule that states that 80% of the economic volume is generated by 20% of the cooperatives is fulfilled; a reference that helps us identify the need for small and medium-sized cooperatives, which have not yet followed this path of professionalization, to do so and unite among themselves, because unity is strength,” stated Del Real.
Need for transformation
In this line, Alberto Marcilla He explained that the creation of this Cooperative Business School arises “from the active listening we have with the sector, which makes us aware of the need for continuous improvement that our cooperatives need.” This is how Agro-food cooperatives Castilla-La Mancha and Globalcaja They join forces, guided by the common objective of adding value to the territory, improving the competitiveness and efficiency of the agri-food sector and its economic dimensions, “always hand in hand with people, attached to the land and looking to the future” and without losing sight. We do this thinking about the cooperative members, “because if we are able to transform those leaders, we will be able to add value to the territory and with it to those cooperative members.” In Castilla-La Mancha, he has stood out Marcillathe agri-food sector represents almost 19% of the region's GDP, “in no other community does it have that representation,” he said, which is why it is key that the people who lead it “are in continuous transformation, to face these challenges.” “Today it is more necessary than ever to differentiate ourselves and that requires a continuous transformation of leaders, to know how to do things differently and respond to that consumer who is asking us for a change in packaging, flavors…”, stated the director of Globalcaja Rural Banking.
Generational change
Among the challenges of the sector, Alberto Marcilla has highlighted the need for there to be a change, for young people to get involved and for that it is necessary that we speak well of the agricultural sector, that young people see that this is a sector of the future, competitive, modern and market-oriented, capable of reinvent yourself a thousand times, because it is.” Regarding the need for this generational change to occur, the general director of Agro-food cooperatives has agreed on the need to rejuvenate the social base of cooperatives, “currently, 35% of our members are over 65 years old and 25% are between 55-65 years oldare worrying data, which lead us to work to show that cooperatives present exciting projects and that you can make a good living from agriculture, especially when things are done in a professional manner.
Cooperative Senior Management Program
Carla Aviles has stressed that from this first promotion, 25 places are offered, to complete a training that includes seven modules, of six full and intensive training days, in which the methodology of the case, usually used by business schools, will be applied, combining immersion in content on topics of interest and the study of practical cases specialized in cooperative companies in the agri-food chain. “We will go through skills that involve training in management skills such as communication, negotiation and direction; strategic vision; challenges of the agri-food company; managerial competence; marketing and the application of artificial intelligence to the cooperative sector,” explained the director of Globalcaja commitment.
This training and intensive training will take place at the Virgen de las Viñas cooperative, in Tomelloso (Ciudad Real). The training sessions are completed with a two-day technical trip so that participants can learn on the ground how top-level cooperatives operate and, at the same time, generate a space for exchange and collaboration between participants.
Lola Gallego has advanced that, to promote this Cooperative Business School, Globalcaja and Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias Castilla-La Mancha, have requested financial support from the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, through the PERTE of Social Economy within the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Planwhich is funded by Next Generation funds. “We are very excited about this project, that is why we call for participation in this first promotion of the Senior Management Programbecause our desire is for there to be a continuous training process that responds to the needs of the management staff and the governing councils of the cooperatives”, concluded the person responsible for Training of Agro-Food Cooperatives Castilla-La Mancha.