Torrevieja’s Socialist municipal group is calling for a purpose-built integrated vocational training centre and criticising the lack of a definitive location and timetable for the project announced since 2021.
The group links its demand to the situation at IES Las Lagunas and argues that converting the school into a vocational centre must not come at the expense of secondary school places in the town.
Las Lagunas refurbishment at the centre of the debate
According to the PSOE’s account of the council meeting on 26 October, education councillor Ricardo Recuero explained that the project currently being drawn up concerns refurbishing Las Lagunas as a secondary school.
The Socialists add that the regional education department would decide on any subsequent conversion into an integrated centre once the work was finished, with completion expected, in their account, in 2029.
The group considers that timescale inadequate and wants Las Lagunas to remain a secondary school alongside a newly built vocational centre, without moving its pupils to other schools it describes as overcrowded.
A demand dating back to 2021
In the chronology circulated by the Socialists, construction of the integrated centre was among the projects proposed for the Plan Edificant school infrastructure programme in January 2021.
The group also recalls mayor Eduardo Dolón’s call for the project in January 2024 and a meeting between the education councillor and the then director-general for vocational training, Marta Armendia, in January 2026.
The PSOE questions whether those efforts have secured delivery of the centre and calls for commitments on educational infrastructure rather than further announcements.
Public provision and pressure on classrooms
To support expanding public vocational training, the Socialists put Torrevieja’s provision at 22 courses, compared with 94 in Elche and 37 in Orihuela.
They also put the town’s growth in pupil numbers at around 8,000 over the past seven years and argue that this requires permanent facilities, not just temporary responses.
The group links more vocational provision to skilled employment opportunities for young people and the needs of sectors including tourism, boating, construction, care and the environment.
Its demand therefore combines two objectives: expanding vocational training options in Torrevieja and retaining secondary education capacity while the future of the integrated centre is resolved.
Your city, in your inbox.
Useful news and plans for Torrevieja and the surrounding area. Mondays at 08:00 and Thursdays at 18:00 (Europe/Madrid): two emails a week. In English, free and without the noise.
Your choice. Confirm your email and unsubscribe at any time.
