Fundación Secretariado Gitano

The innovative programme Empleando Digital receives the “Digital Skills Awards Spain 2020” Prize, awarded by the Assocation of Businesses in the Technological Digital Industry Sector in Spain [editar]

• Employment

The innovative programme Empleando Digital has today received the “Digital Skills Awards Spain 2020” Prize in the category “Digital skills for inclusion”, awarded by the Assocation of Businesses in the Technological Digital Industry Sector in Spain (AMETIC). Isidro Rodriguez, director general of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano and Antoni Bruel, coordinator general of the Spanish Red Cross received the honour in the course of the III Forum Alliance for the Development of Talent. The objective of this event is to recognise the best projects and experiences within the area of developing talent in building digital skills for society. 

Empleando Digital is a project of digital transformation which began in 2017 and lasted two years, carried out by the Fundación Secretariado Gitano and the Red Cross in collaboration with the Fundación Accenture. Its main objective was to update, improve and innovate processes and methodologies of employment support so that they remain useful to people in a labour market which has been altered by digital transformation. This was achieved by means of innovative training and qualification experiences which were far from the traditional training pathways and from the usual experiences of people in a situation of vulnerability. They shared this new learning experience with many other parts of society (businesses, social organisations, professional associations, etc).

This project allowed us to work to close the digital divide for people in a situation of vulnerability, bringing technology and digital skills to the most disadvantaged groups and boosting access to equal opportunities. This was possible thanks to the partnership between the two great social organisations represented by the Fundación Secretariado Gitano and the Spanish Red Cross and a leading company in the technology sector, Accenture. It also gained vital support from funders such as the European Social Fund and, in Spain, the Ministry of Labour, Migrations and Social Security – ESF Administration Unit (UAFSE) and the Fundación Accenture. Without this support, the project could not have been carried out.   

Empleando Digital focused on two essential aspects: first, the training of technical employment teams and the updating of methodologies in organisations; and second, the improvement of the digital skills and knowledge of the people at risk of exclusion whom we were supporting in their search for employment.

Empleando Digital operated for 2 years in 12 regions with the direct participation of more than 300 employment professionals and almost 10,000 people in a situation of exclusion, more than 50% of them women, who worked to improve their digital skills and knowledge. Training was provided through courses in software development using Java and Javascript, and in occupations which are undergoing changes due to digital transformation. Digital tools were also included on courses aimed at achieving social and labour market inclusion.     

This prize represents fresh recognition of the joint work of two social organisations and a leading company in the technological sector, Accenture, through its Foundation. It was also recognised as an example of good practice by the European Medici project, funded by the European Commission. This project shares best existing practice in order to foster the integration of vulnerable groups who find themselves at a disadvantage in the digital society.   

 “We believe it is vital that no one is left behind by digital progress. It is therefore essential to have projects like this one, ensuring that digital advances include those groups which are at the greatest disadvantage in the labour market, such as the Roma population”, stated the director general of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano, Isidro Rodriguez. “At the Fundación Secretariado Gitano, we wish to express our gratitude to AMETIC, to the Fundación Accenture and to all the project’s funders, along with all the teams of professionals and the Roma men and women who participated in the project every day. It is their confidence in the project which has made this recognition possible”, he added.