The headquarters of the Cádiz Business Confederation hosted the roundtable discussion “Port Horizons: Building the Future from the Port” this Wednesday, organized by Cádiz-Port to analyze the opportunities and challenges facing the Port of the Bay of Cádiz as a driver of economic development, innovation, and social cohesion.
The meeting was attended by Daniel Macpherson Snyder, president of Cádiz-Port; Nausikaa Botamino García, manager of the IEDT of the Cádiz Provincial Council; Beatriz Gandullo Sosa, Councilor for Economic Development and Employment Promotion of the Cádiz City Council; Daniel Sánchez Román, territorial delegate for Employment, Business, and Self-Employment of the Regional Government of Andalusia; Antonio Domínguez Abecia, director of the Navantia Bahía de Cádiz Shipyard, and Juan Manuel Gómez Castrillón, representative of Boluda Towage in Cádiz. The moderation was led by journalist Rubén López Rodríguez of COPE Cádiz.
During the session, one of the major challenges facing the Cádiz port ecosystem was addressed: the difficulty of filling qualified technical and professional profiles in an environment marked by structural unemployment. Some speakers highlighted that this gap has led to the loss of business opportunities and workload for local companies.
“The Port of Cádiz has the land and capacity to continue growing and attracting new companies; but without a trained workforce, this growth will be unviable,” warned Daniel Macpherson, president of Cádiz-Port, who also pointed out the urgent need to coordinate training, investment, and talent acquisition.
The speakers agreed on the need to align educational and training strategies with the reality of port companies, thus promoting skilled employment and creating opportunities for the population of Cádiz. They also highlighted the importance of conducting educational work with society, especially with families and the educational community, in order to foster a true port culture that will bring young people closer to the sector and highlight their future opportunities.
The debate also made it possible to identify several strategic lines on which Cádiz-Port and the institutions present will actively work in the coming months, moving toward a common framework that strengthens the role of the Port of the Bay of Cádiz as an engine of economic and social development.
This meeting is part of the Port Horizons 2025 project, funded by the Institute for Employment and Socioeconomic and Technological Development (IEDT) of the Provincial Council of Cádiz, and is situated in the context of the Development of the 2026 Cádiz-Port Action Plan, which for the first time will incorporate a specific line aimed at coordinating training and employment promotion initiatives in the sector.
Following the roundtable, a networking session took place, allowing attendees to discuss and share ideas, laying the groundwork for defining next year’s action plan and fostering synergies between companies and institutions.
With this initiative, Cádiz-Port strengthens its role as a community, a platform for dialogue and public-private collaboration, paving the way for future actions that will contribute to making the Port of the Bay of Cádiz a true engine of economic and social development for the province.
