Promoting access to the labor market
In addition to the specific challenges of their daily lives, people with disabilities face general challenges To access the labor market, A challenge to progress little by little. For example, in Spain, Employment of people with disabilities increased by 2.3% in 2022.
Entrepreneurial initiatives such as Argentina Startup are also trying to respond to this reality. Incluyeme.comA site that promotes social-employment inclusion for people with certain types of disabilities or Spanish people expertsFocuses on including people with autism or Asperger’s syndrome in technical environments and BBVA collaborates.
Includes and crystallizes Initiatives created by people with disabilities Like the Spanish sneaker brand, Timbers, co-founded by Diego Soliveres (Visual Impairment), Roberto Mohedano (Physical Impairment) and Iter Garradal (Organic Impairment). The company designs sneakers for the blind: textures and materials are touch-oriented and models include a braille logo. Also, its staff consists of people with disabilities. „Our skills are more important than our shortcomings,” says their website. Another example is a startup The world is a wheelA site promoting accessible tourism, co-founded by disabled Chilean Alvaro Silberstein.
To encourage the development of these types of projects, Spain has various aids and grants that allow them to achieve workforce inclusion. Through the talent of the ONCE Foundation.
Start with awareness
Apart from initiatives that promote the inclusion of workers with disabilities or those aimed at making their daily lives easier, awareness is essential to reach out to companies in a general way.
Although companies are increasingly committed, continued action is necessary to achieve inclusion, pointed out Carmen Millen, director. Tiflotechnology and Innovation Center (CTI) Once. „If we compare ourselves to ten years ago, we have evolved a lot, but many companies still have a lack of knowledge about accessibility, and when they contact us a new world opens up for them.” After this first approach, CTI collaborates with organizations to advance in terms of accessibility. „Since then we have tried, above all, Create awareness, provide a roadmap and provide mentors so they can access their solutions„, he assures.
As an example of this work, CTI A chair at the Complutense University of Madrid Raising awareness among professionals in various fields of knowledge so that they take into account the importance of accessibility when entering the labor market. „Participating in these types of spaces or being present at events requires listening, influencing and understanding. People with disabilities are also consumers of any product and they cannot be left behind,” highlights Milan.
This same aim is in line with the entrepreneurial perspective of Guillermo Gaunas from Ayúdame3D. „Why carry out if not with a social purpose; Why tackle a problem in the world if you can’t solve it? If we have the resources, innovation and technology, it can be done,” he says. Thanks to people with disabilities, technology and entrepreneurship, society is moving towards a more inclusive environment, little by little, with the aim of enabling them to fully enjoy a life without barriers.
