Fundació Sorigué, Fundación Telefónica and Barcelona City Council, through its Social Rights area, provide digital skills training to around fifty young people in the city within the framework of the “Barcelona Declaration for Digital Social Inclusion”, which considers programmes aimed at groups where the digital divide is most pronounced to be a priority.

Following the signing of this declaration on 22 February, Fundación Telefónica participates in this agreement through its Digital Employment programme, via two training pathways: “Big Data” and “Web Development in Java”.

These two free digital training pathways, aimed at young people aged 18 to 35, will be followed by new courses targeted at young people aged 16 to 25, with the aim of reaching the highest possible number of young people affected by unemployment and at risk of social exclusion. Both pathways have been delivered since mid-June at Sorigué’s headquarters in Barcelona, at 99 Ronda del Guinardó Street. Sorigué provides participants with a training space specifically prepared and equipped with the services and technological resources required for the programme’s implementation.

All the young people participating in the programme are actively seeking employment and are not required to have prior technological knowledge: they are trained to become the digital professionals sought by companies. The objective of Digital Employment is to serve as a bridge between technology companies and unemployed young people through training in areas related to the most in-demand technological profiles, as reflected in the most recent industry forecasts: of the vacancies published in the ICT sector over the past year, more than half were aimed at programmers and specialists in various digital developments.

According to Joan Cruz, Director of Fundación Telefónica in Catalonia, the problem of youth unemployment must be addressed through joint collaboration between private companies, public institutions and social agents. “The labour market is in constant change and transformation, and jobs linked to the digital world have extraordinary potential; with this initiative we aim to connect them to the needs of the region’s productive environment,” he stated.

For Ana Vallés, President of Sorigué, involvement in this initiative responds to the “social commitment that has characterised the work of Fundació Sorigué for decades. Our support for youth training reflects the spirit of contribution that forms part of Sorigué’s corporate culture and is framed within our corporate responsibility strategy, which advocates a business model that generates value for society as a whole.”

Sorigué maintains an active commitment to giving back to society through activities in the social and educational fields via Fundació Sorigué. In order to join efforts in the same direction, Sorigué collaborates in Fundación Telefónica’s Youth Employability programme together with Barcelona City Council, to support the promotion of employability among young people.

​In this regard, Sorigué also participates in the Coach project to improve the employability of young people at risk of social exclusion, promoted by Fundación Exit, and in the Ent-Ex programme organised by the European Institute for Industrial Leadership (EIIL), created to help young people develop their entrepreneurial skills, among other educational programmes.