CEIM, the CEOE Foundation and the “la Caixa” Foundation join forces to promote inclusion in the labour market for disadvantaged groups in Madrid

The President of CEIM, Miguel Garrido, the Secretary General of CEOE, José Alberto González-Ruiz Martínez, and the Director of the Social Inclusion Area of the "la Caixa" Foundation, Cristina Segura, have signed an agreement to promote the inclusion of vulnerable groups into the labour market within the framework of the Incorpora Programme in the Community of Madrid.

CEIM, the CEOE Foundation and the “la Caixa” Foundation will also collaborate within the framework of the ‘We combine Health + Economy’ Plan to continue combating the pandemic with awareness-raising campaigns, testing and vaccination support.

The president of CEIM, Miguel Garrido, the secretary general of CEOE, José Alberto González-Ruiz Martínez, and the director of the Social Inclusion Area of the “la Caixa Foundation”, Cristina Segura, will join forces to promote the inclusion of vulnerable groups into the labour market within the framework of the Incorpora Programme.

Specifically, CEIM, within the framework of the “Sumamos Plan” (in English, “We combine Health + Economy Plan”, will inform companies and business organisations in the Community of Madrid about the content of the la Caixa Foundation’s Incorpora Programme. They will target those companies that, directly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have seen their economic activity come to a standstill, as well as those companies interested in filling their job vacancies within the framework of the Incorpora Programme.

In addition, these institutions will hold awareness-raising sessions on the value of socio-occupational inclusion as a tool for corporate responsibility within the ‘Sumamos Plan’ or the introduction of action protocols and the promotion of entrepreneurship.

The Director of the Social Inclusion Area of the “la Caixa” Foundation, Cristina Segura, stressed that “job creation will be one of the cornerstones for recovery, and it is crucial that these job opportunities also reach disadvantaged groups in the Community of Madrid. Alliances such as the one we are announcing today in Madrid with the CEIM and the CEOE Foundation will allow us to tackle the complex situation brought about by the pandemic by focusing on the people who have the greatest difficulties in finding work”.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General of CEOE, José Alberto González-Ruiz Martinez, stressed that “with this alliance, the CEOE Foundation and the “la Caixa” Foundation join forces to work towards the integration into the labour market of people in the Community of Madrid, bringing together social and business needs, and once again demonstrating the social commitment of Madrid’s business community.  This commitment has become clearer than ever during the crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Likewise, the president of CEIM, Miguel Garrido, has identified as a fundamental pillar of this collaboration “the challenge we have as entrepreneurs to adapt to the needs of society, in this case, to show commitment and create opportunities for the people who have the greatest difficulties, contributing to diversity and including all the talent that, in turn, will make companies in Madrid more competitive”.

The Plan Sumamos. Salud + Economía’ (in English, We Combine Health+Economy Plan)

At the beginning, the CEOE Foundation’s ‘Plan Sumamos’ included a set of five initiatives through which companies have collaborated in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, from screening in workplaces (donating resources, material and spaces), and tracking (through the COVID Radar application), to communication initiatives, attention to vulnerable groups and vaccinations.

Within the lines of action to help vulnerable people, the ‘Sumamos Plan’ includes not just the ‘Incorpora Programme’, but also the ‘Sustainable Digitalisation’ initiative. It allows participating companies to donate electronic devices which, once reconditioned, are reused by people at risk of exclusion, thus helping to minimise the digital gap.

So far, within the framework of the Sumamos Plan, agreements have been signed with 14 autonomous regions, representing more than 90% of the Spanish population, a hundred large companies and more than 25,000 SMEs have joined the initiative, and more than one million people have benefited.

In this new phase of the fight against the pandemic, the participating companies have shown their willingness to participate in administering the third booster dose, as well as in the flu vaccination campaign. On the other hand, work is being carried out together with the General Council of Psychology in Spain on the mental vaccine, as a basic line of action for the future that will have an impact on programmes for the first mental health assessment of workers.

In addition, a plan has been launched to help those affected by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in La Palma, which includes the supply and distribution of basic essentials, psychological support for those affected and, in the medium and long term, help for the economic reactivation of the island of La Palma.

La Caixa” Foundation’s Incorpora Programme

Since 2006, “la Caixa” Foundation’s Incorpora programme has been promoting throughout Spain the hiring of people with greater difficulties in finding employment, such as people with disabilities, the long-term unemployed, young people in vulnerable situations, immigrants, former convicts and victims of gender-based violence, among others.

Incorpora offers companies advice and support in social responsibility initiatives, in this case focusing on the integration of vulnerable people into the workplace. In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme enabled the placement of more than 34,000 people in jobs thanks to the collaboration in this social responsibility project of 11,700 companies. Of these, 3,400 of the jobs created and 1,170 of the companies involved were in the Community of Madrid.