Nearly nine out of ten employees at Bilbao City Council, specifically 89%, hold an accredited linguistic profile. This data indicates that 2,425 individuals have demonstrated a certain level of Basque when applying for municipal employment positions. With the goal of further increasing this figure, the Council has put out to tender the Trebakuntza program, aimed at the linguistic training and qualification of municipal staff.

According to the contract specifications, Trebakuntza seeks to “work on the linguistic skills, both oral and written,” of public employees and officials. Additionally, they will be shown existing resources in Basque to empower them and encourage the use of the Basque language in their “ habitual tasks.”

In this vein, it is emphasized that the program must create the necessary initiatives and projects that “increase the oral capacity in Basque” of municipal officials when they need to speak in public. Likewise, it aims to “deepen the knowledge” of the Basque language to acquire greater competence in the habitual use by public workers and to teach them the Basque resources that assist them in their daily work.

The ultimate goal of this service is to increase the degree of compliance with the objectives of the Plan for the Normalization of the Use of Basque (2023-2027). The contract specifies that the training offer must adhere to courses in verbal fluency, Basque language acquisition, oral work seminars in Basque, and written training.

Furthermore, the budget allocation from the Department of Basque Language, Citizen Attention and Participation, Agenda 2030, and International Affairs also includes economic provisions to promote Basque language learning among residents of the Bizkaia capital. Thus, 700,000 euros have been allocated to financially support individuals enrolled in euskaltegis and residing in Bilbao. Additionally, the City Council will support Ibilaldia, the festival of Bizkaia's ikastolas, which will be held in Bilbao this year, with 38,000 euros.