The Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego (SRJHE) will maintain an institutional presence at this year’s Feira da Indústria, Comércio e Serviços dos Açores 2026 (FICSA), taking place from May 8 to 14 at the Portas do Mar during the celebrations of the Festas do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres.

Organized annually by the Câmara do Comércio e Indústria de Ponta Delgada, the fair has become one of the Azores’ most visible showcases for business, entrepreneurship, and regional development. This year’s edition places a particular emphasis on employment and professional qualifications — themes the regional government says are central to the future competitiveness of the archipelago.

The participation of the regional government will be coordinated through the Direção Regional de Qualificação Profissional e Emprego and the Direção Regional da Juventude, with the stated goal of strengthening public awareness surrounding youth policies, professional training, employability initiatives, and skills development across the region.

According to Regional Secretary Maria João Carreiro, the SRJHE stand will operate as an “open public service counter,” offering information and guidance on internship programs, hiring incentives, professional retraining measures, educational opportunities, mobility initiatives, and youth volunteer programs available throughout the Azores.

“Our objective with this participation is to bring citizens and businesses closer to the incentives and opportunities for qualification, training, and employability that exist in the Azores,” Carreiro stated, emphasizing the importance of cultivating “a culture of personal investment in education and skills development” among both young people and workers.

The SRJHE stand will be integrated into the fair’s “Qualifications Space” and will also feature a dedicated section promoting vocational education through the campaign “A Tua Primeira Escolha” (“Your First Choice”). The initiative is organized annually to encourage school-age students to explore the opportunities offered by professional education pathways and to raise awareness about enrollment periods for courses available at the Azores’ vocational schools.

During the fair, the government will present the full educational offering for the 2026–2029 academic cycle across the region’s 16 vocational schools and the Centro de Qualificação dos Açores.

One of the most interactive elements of the program will be the daily “A Tua Primeira Escolha LAB – À Descoberta das Profissões” (“Discovering Professions”) sessions, featuring live and hands-on demonstrations led by students from Azorean vocational schools. The initiative aims to give young attendees a closer understanding of different professions and technical fields through direct observation and participation.

By witnessing practical demonstrations of various careers, officials believe students can better understand what each professional path entails and identify interests that might otherwise remain undiscovered in traditional classroom settings.

“These demonstrations are important because they help young people make more informed decisions aligned with their interests,” Carreiro explained, according to information published on the regional government portal.

Schedules for the “A Tua Primeira Escolha LAB” sessions will be available through the Facebook pages “Qualificação Profissional e Emprego Açores” and “Juventude Açores.”

This year’s FICSA 2026 will feature 122 business exhibitors and 56 artisan stands, the latter organized through the Centro de Artesanato e Design dos Açores, further reinforcing the fair’s role as both an economic and cultural centerpiece of the Santo Cristo festivities in Ponta Delgada.

In Correio dos Açores-Natalino Viveiros, director