• A delegation of ten representatives of the UN  ‘Train For Trade’ programme visited the Port of Valencia for a week and received training in innovation and the environment, key aspects in the management of port facilities for the international organisation

Innovation and care for the environment are two transversal strategies in the management of Valenciaport. And it is precisely their practical implementation that has aroused the interest of the delegation of representatives of the training programme ‘Train For Trade’ (Port Management Programme) – of the UN (United Nations Organisation) – who have visited the Valencian precinct and have taken an interest in its organisational and operational model.

The facilities of the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) have welcomed for a week a group of ten students from Argentina, Peru, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic from the programme organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), who have been trained by experts from Valenciaport and the Valencian port community. Rubén Marín, deputy director general of Valenciaport and Juan Manuel Díez, head of Strategic Planning and Innovation of the PAV, accompanied them on the visit to the port area.

The training project is organised for participants who have successfully completed the Modern Port Management course and whose case studies/thesis have been selected as one of the best. The students learn key and differentiating aspects of port management that are world benchmarks.

At the Valencian docks, the UNCTAD delegation has shown interest in the implementation of the innovation model developed by the PAV. “I am impressed by how easy it is to develop port innovation projects with Valenciaport. I think this openness makes it easier for the port to grow and adapt to any future needs. I would love to replicate the model in my country”, assured the Bolivian representative. 

Fight against climate change and innovation

The aim of this training is to share ideas and to train port managers in order to transfer this knowledge between port areas”. In this sense, Díez pointed out after the visit that “it is essential to show the innovation and environmental projects we have underway and their results so that other ports can replicate them with a guarantee of success”.

For a week, the Port of Valencia’s facilities have hosted the ‘Train For Trade’ management training programme, an initiative that prepares trainers from the countries that form part of the programme so that they can contribute their knowledge in the ports of their countries and teach them the port management models that they are learning at the Port of València. 

Collaboration with UNCTAD

The Port Authority of València has been collaborating with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in port training programmes since 2001. In 2007, both entities signed a collaboration agreement for the development of the port training programme ‘Train for Trade’ in Spanish-speaking developing countries, which has included actions such as technical assistance missions to Latin American countries and the holding of seminars in Valencia and Gijón.

The study material is regularly updated by UNCTAD with the collaboration of port experts from the Port Authorities of València and Gijón. It consists of manuals, videos, assessments, individual and group exercises that are available on the TrainForTrade distance learning platform.