GEOGRAPHIC POSITION

Located in the Southern part of Europe, in the Algarve, Silves county is about 14% of the region area and is 0,74% of the total country area.

The municipality of Silves comprises an extended area of 680,96km2 and has got 8 parishes (S. Marcos da Serra, São Bartolomeu de Messines, Silves, Tunes, Alcantarilha, Pêra and Armação de Pêra), with a resident population of 37,126 people (2011 Census) with more than 60% of its population concentrated in the city of Silves and São Bartolomeu de Messines.

Most public schools of different levels of education belong to what is called Agrupamento de Escolas de Silves (Silves Group of Schools).

The geography of the municipality is characterized by its interiority and some remoteness from the coast although it has some beach areas with all that this entails in terms of lifestyles, housing, employment, education, access to knowledge and culture, leisure activities, etc.

The impact and importance of tourism in the region is generating internal migration and invasion of domestic and foreign tourists, especially during high season-at the seaside, which is associated in recent times as the immigration phenomenon, and has brought to the Algarve (Silves) the issue of multiculturalism - the mix of cultures and ways of life and new issues of the forum of social and community integration, loss of identity roots, to which the school, of course, is not indifferent.

POPULATION AND SHARE OF YOUNG PEOPLE

According to 2011 census the population within the range of 15-24 yo is 3499; the percentage of working population is 63,1%; foreign residents percentage- 13,5;percentage of population in the primary sector-5,6%, secondary sector-16,7% and tertiary sector-77,7%.

LOCAL INDUSTRIES PROVIDING EMPLOYMENT

At the level of economic development, the tertiary sector (trade and services) stands out in all parishes in the county, ie, the region is given the role of assuming the challenge of specialization in the complex of tourism and leisure activities, as a driving force and catalyst for the economic growth of the region.

LOCAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT STRATEGIES

To what concerns employment oopportunities there are financing programs for self-employment projects, financing programs for projects / vocational training projects and professional internships along with a diversification of productive activities in the primary and tertiary sector. There is also a diversification of tourism supply and a requalification of local heritage.

POSITIVE TRENDS

Tourism potential is high, as this sector tends to consolidate itself as a driving force for the regional economy, but growth not always controlled and orderly, as well as the emergence of a highly product-oriented product for sun and beach, implies conditions that affect the quality of services and the image of the region in general.

The impact and importance of tourism in the region is generating internal migration and invasion of domestic and foreign tourists, especially during high season-at the seaside, which is associated in recent times as the immigration phenomenon, and has brought to the Algarve (Silves) the issue of multiculturalism - the mix of cultures and ways of life and new issues of the forum of social and community integration, loss of identity roots, to which the school, of course, is not indifferent.

Strengths - favorable climate for the development of tourism and agriculture throughout the year; fixation of the population in search of employment in the county; accessibilities of the county for the implementation of services; ecological potential; existence of events promoting patrimony and the businesses opportunities.

NEGATIVE TRENDS

Silves county faces a precarious job supply as well as a dependence on unemployment benefits, low levels of population training, low schooling, low salaries, deficit in the professional insertion of people with disabilities and disabilities and a weak support for entrepreneurship and business initiatives.

The evolution of the age structure of the county population in the last decade has shown a progressive tendency towards aging and, simultaneously, a decrease in the number of young people - double aging - denouncing a clear dominance of the population over 65, compared to 15 or years ago.