Somorrostro Training Center opened its doors February 3, 1947, with thirty students and three teachers, and led by Mr. Marcelo Gangoiti Urrutia.

At that time, the Mining Area in Biscay presented a strong economic decay compared to the emergent situation of the adjacent county, the Left Bank of the Nervion river.

These circumstances motivated Mr. Marcelo to create the Career Guidance School so that its students could be admitted to the Vocational Schools of the leading companies during the industrial and economic development in Biscay and the Basque Country at the time. Mr. Marcelo continued in the School, directing a noteworthy team of collaborators until 1977.

After that, Mr. Jesus Gurtubai was appointed director, and he faithfully continued the founder’s task. In 1990, Mikel Ruiz took over the direction of the School for the next 15 years and, with it, the School’s most prosperous years.

Since 2005, Juan Manuel Seco led the Management Team at the Somorrostro Center until he was succeeded by Javier Laiseca in the 2016/2017 academic year.

Under Laiseca’s direction, the Center took the first steps towards conducting important pedagogical changes. On the one hand, Vocational Education Training moved toward what is called “high-performance cycles” (ciclos de alto rendimiento) by implementing the “ethazi” methodology. On the other hand, ESO (Obligatory Secondary Education) and Bachillerlevels progressed to adapt to a training based on collaborative work, but always maintaining the spirit and principles inspired by Mr. Marcelo: to achieve a comprehensive training, both to a professional and individual level, educating people who are upright, hard-working, ethical, and kind to disadvantaged people.

These values have made Somorrostro a prestigious institution, valued by the socioeconomic environment and an effective revitalizing agent for local development. Currently, our Center is located on a 75,000 square-meter-area, further distributed in eight buildings. More than 5,000 students, between regulated education and employment training, attend the School.

We have quality human resources, as well as reputable collaborations with many different companies and institutions that can help us continue improving our service to society.