The CEOE Foundation starts to offer training and employment guidance to Ukrainians in Barcelona

On Thursday, May 5, the President of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, and the President of the CEOE Foundation, Fátima Báñez, visited the in-person information desk set up by the CEOE Foundation in Barcelona. This desk will offer training and employment guidance to Ukrainians who have come to Spain, with the aim of helping them to integrate.

During the visit, they were accompanied by the Deputy Director of the Centres within the Reception System run by the Ministry of Inclusion, Rafael Núñez; the President of Foment del Treball, Josep Sánchez Llibre; the member of the Management Committee of Adecco Spain, Marcos Huergo; the Director of Public Sector and Financial Services at Oliver Wyman, Gonzalo Arana; the Director of Stakeholder Communications at Banco Santander, Olga Grau; and the Secretary of the CSR Commission of CEOE and head of the ‘Companies for Ukraine’ project, Carmen Aparicio.

The stand, which has been open since Thursday, is part of the Reception, Attention and Referral Centre (CREADE) established by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration at the Fira de Barcelona for this target group.

Similarly, the CEOE Foundation will have information desks at the CREADE that will open in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid) next Monday, and in Malaga and Ciudad de la Luz (Alicante), which will be inaugurated in the following days.

In all of them, Ukrainians wishing to obtain information and guidance will be assisted by staff from the Adecco Group.

The information stands of the CEOE Foundation, which are now being opened, will serve, among other things, to facilitate the access of Ukrainians to the platform www.empresasporucrania.org in which more than 600 companies are already collaborating, and which offers more than 2,000 job openings all over the country for all types of profiles.

Specifically, the CEOE Foundation platform offers job openings across the country and in all sectors; free training in Spanish and other skills that promote employability; and a section of verified information of interest, in Spanish and Ukrainian.

During the visit, the CEOE President pointed out that “at this time, we must support the Ukrainian people, not only by condemning the Russian invasion, but also by offering them training and jobs so that they not only feel at home but are also able to feel integrated in our country”.

“Once again, public-private collaboration allows us to multiply our capacities for the benefit of society, which is something we should value more than ever,” he added.

In turn, the president of the CEOE Foundation thanked the Ministry and the companies that have already signed up to the platform for their involvement. “This is a sign of the level of commitment and supportive vocation shown by companies, which has become more visible since the pandemic and which we, at the CEOE Foundation, will continue to channel”.

“Actions speak louder than anything else, and the fact that companies continue to contribute in such difficult times, firstly to help with COVID and now providing support for a population as needy as that of Ukraine, is something we should be proud of as a country”, she said.

Meanwhile, the member of the Management Committee of Adecco Spain expressed the Adecco Group’s willingness to “do its part by offering advice and information to the Ukrainian people assisted in the hubs”. “The priority is to help them find a job and help them understand how the ‘Companies for Ukraine’ platform works, because it is only through training and employment that we will achieve a gradual and full integration into our society”. 

Companies for Ukraine

Universia, the open platform for non-financial services of Banco Santander, has helped in designing the platform used by the ‘Companies for Ukraine’ project promoted by the CEOE Foundation.  This platform enables companies and refugees to come together and assists users on the path to employability, providing guidance and with a special focus on lifelong learning.

In addition, the consultancy firm Oliver Wyman, a CEOE partner company, is participating by providing strategic advice and helping to coordinate the project.

In addition, staff from the Adecco Group will provide information about the platform at the reception hubs set up for people arriving from Ukraine.  The information will be distributed using diptychs prepared in collaboration with MAPFRE. 

Partner companies of the ‘Business for Ukraine’ Project

–          Laboratorios Rovi

–          Grupo Ibaizabal

–          Universia

–          Oliver Wyman

–          Grupo Adecco

–          MAPFRE

–          Randstad

–          Microsoft

–          Cisco Systems

–          Eurofirms

–          Job&talent