CIFO Santa Coloma

What CIFO Santa Coloma does

CIFO Santa Coloma (legal name: Centre d'Innovació i Formació Ocupacional Santa Coloma) is a public vocational training center operated by the Servei Públic d'Ocupació de Catalunya (SOC), an autonomous administrative body attached to the Generalitat de Catalunya. The center is one of several CIFO centers that form the SOC's network of own training facilities (Centres propis de formació) alongside CFPA, collectively delivering vocational training, professional certification, and skills development programs across Catalonia. Its core technology consists of digital platforms for course management and integration with the regional Feina Activa job-matching portal; no proprietary AI or advanced technical capabilities are disclosed in the input data.

The center serves four primary segments: unemployed job seekers registered with the SOC, youth aged 18-29 facing vulnerability (low educational attainment, long-term unemployment, disability, or former foster-care backgrounds), working professionals seeking upskilling, and local enterprises seeking trained personnel. Specialized programming includes the ALMA international mobility initiative co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (€4,000,000 for 2021-2027) and outreach to vulnerable populations through partner NGOs and educational institutions.

The business model is non-commercial: training is provided free of charge to participants and funded through regional government allocations and EU co-financing. Distribution occurs through direct in-person instruction at the Santa Coloma de Gramenet facility (Barcelona metro), referral from the SOC's network of Oficines de Treball, the Feina Activa online portal, and partner organizations. The center operates with 11-50 employees and serves a single-country (Spain) market within Catalonia.

Name

CIFO Santa Coloma

Legal name

Centre d'Innovació i Formació Ocupacional Santa Coloma

Website

https://serveiocupacio.gencat.cat

Company type

Public

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CIFO Santa Coloma is a public vocational training center operated by the Generalitat de Catalunya's Servei Públic d'Ocupació, delivering free, government-funded professional certification programs to job seekers, at-risk youth, and working professionals in the Barcelona metropolitan area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Training Services

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAIAFAA

Provider-Run International Internship Programs (Multi-Country/Multi-Industry)

Education/International Education & Study Abroad/International Internships, Co-ops & Work Placement Programs

SECONDARYEDAAADAE

Workplace & Career Integration for Immigrants (Credentialing, Job Readiness)

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Citizenship & Immigrant Integration Education

SECONDARYEDAIAFAO

Credentialing, Academic Credit, Assessment & Transcript Services

Education/International Education & Study Abroad/International Internships, Co-ops & Work Placement Programs

Keywords

• Vocational training services
• Professional certification programs
• Public employment services
• Skills development courses
• Job placement assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CIFO Santa Coloma delivers publicly funded vocational training, professional certification courses, and skills development programs for unemployed job seekers, vulnerable youth, employed workers, and local businesses in Catalonia. It is one of the SOC's Centres d'Innovació i Formació Ocupacional, operating alongside specialized programs such as ALMA for youth at risk and international mobility opportunities through Erasmus+, Eurodissea, and other EU-funded initiatives.

Product overview

CIFO Santa Coloma is part of the network of Centres d'Innovació i Formació Ocupacional (CIFO), which are own training centers of the Servei Pública d'Ocupació de Catalunya (SOC). The CIFO centers form a unified system of vocational training facilities across Catalonia, offering professional training programs, certifications, and skills development courses for job seekers and employed workers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vocational Training Programs (CIFO Centers) Public vocational training and professional certification programs delivered at CIFO Santa Coloma for unemployed job seekers, employed workers, and other individuals in Catalonia. Programs lead to official professional certificates recognized across Spain and the EU.
• ALMA Program Targeted training and international mobility program for vulnerable youth aged 18-29, co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) with 4,000,000 euros allocated. Includes mobility opportunities through Erasmus+ ITER Mobility and Eurodissea practices abroad.
• Feina Activa Job Matching Service Statewide online job portal operated by the SOC, accessible to CIFO participants, connecting job seekers with employment opportunities and providing access to job offers across Catalonia.
• Professional Orientation and Career Counseling Career guidance and professional orientation services delivered through SOC Job Offices (Oficines de Treball) and supporting CIFO enrollment decisions and post-training job placement.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA): Germany's federal employment agency. Comparable as a large European PES with integrated vocational training, retraining, and job-placement functions — useful benchmark for the structural model CIFO/SOC operates at smaller scale.
• France Travail (formerly Pôle Emploi): France's national public employment service. Closest large-scale EU peer to the SOC system: registers job seekers, delivers training programs, and runs employer-matching services — comparable mission and operating model in a different national context.
• Lanbide - Servicio Vasco de Empleo: The Basque Country's regional public employment service. Operates a parallel model to SOC in Catalonia — regional PES with training, job-matching, and employer-services functions — making it a directly analogous regional peer in a different Spanish territory.
• Centro de Formación Profesional (other Spanish regions): Network of publicly-operated vocational training centers across Spain's other autonomous communities. Operate under similar regional education ministries with comparable curricula and EU-recognized certifications — sister-institutions to CIFO outside Catalonia.
• Servei d'Ocupació de les Illes Balears (SOIB): Balearic Islands regional PES. Runs own training centers and employment services parallel to Catalonia's SOC/CIFO structure, with similar EU-co-funded vocational programs — a peer regional PES in another Spanish autonomous community.

Broad incumbents

• Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE): The Spanish national public employment service, a tier above the regional SOC. SEPE administers national unemployment benefits, employment policy, and coordinates regional PES bodies — overlapping in mandate with CIFO/SOC but at national scale.
• Centro de Estudios CEAC: One of Spain's largest private vocational and distance-learning providers. Competes with CIFO for working-professional upskilling demand in Catalonia, but operates on commercial tuition rather than public subsidies — a private-sector incumbent in an overlapping segment.

Direct peers

• FUNDAE (Fundación Estatal para la Formación en el Empleo): Spanish state foundation that manages subsidized employee-training funding across Spain. Directly comparable as a publicly-funded vocational-training financing and coordination body, complementary to the regional training delivery CIFO provides.
• Servei Públic d'Ocupació de Catalunya (SOC): The parent body of CIFO Santa Coloma. SOC operates the regional public employment service for Catalonia, including all CIFO and CFPA training centers, Job Offices, and the Feina Activa portal — directly comparable as the parent system in which CIFO Santa Coloma is embedded.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ocupaciocat
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCx3aDoh-RGGYCqnXF4ulOBg
• Facebookfacebook.com/ocupaciocat
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cifo-santacoloma
• Instagraminstagram.com/ocupaciocat

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CIFO Santa Coloma