The aim of Fundación Impulsa is to improve young people’s access to quality training and overcome their professional challenges. This work has been recognised during B-Challenge, a programme run by Banco Sabadell Foundation and Fundación Ship2B. The challenge of this programme is the rapid creation of ideas for persons or companies who wish to resolve a social or environmental challenge via innovative solutions and self-sufficient business models.

In this area, Fundación Impulsa, who aims to integrate young students who do not have the necessary resources to complete their own training, was one of the 10 final projects which obtained special recognition from Banco Sabadell Foundation for the work it carries out through different initiatives, such as the Programa Ayuda Formación Profesional [Programme for Professional Training Support] (medium term programme) and the Prensa Empresa Programme (long term programme).

We have spoken to the Chairman, Carles Cuyás, in order to find out more about the project…

What does it mean to Fundación Impusla to receive this type of recognition of your work?

We, Fundación Impulsa, are very pleased to have been granted this award by Ship2B and Banco Sabadell Foundation from amongst 20 very innovative and interesting social projects. It is a unique opportunity to make ourselves known and to reach out to as many people as possible for them to join our cause.

How would you evaluate institutions such as Banco Sabadell who support and reaward talent, and create opportunities for innovative projects?

We believe that social aims should be embedded in companies’ DNA. We value very positively the fact that foundations such as Banco Sabadell Foundation are interested in charitable causes, rewarding talent and supporting big opportunities for innovative and budding projects.

What are your objectives after participating in B-Challenge?

Our current aim is to create a detailed and competent methodology which defines all of our project. In the long term our aim is to make Fundación Impulsa known and to expand it into other territories in Catalonia, including companies from other regions so that they grant students scholarships, and thus we can award scholarships to a higher number of students from different regions.

What three things would you highlight from the programme?

Comradeship, learning and opportunity! For our team, participating in B-Challenge has meant creating a community together with the other projects, and the Ship2B team itself, creating good synergies and positive relationships amongst everybody.

Participating in this project has represented a huge learning experience and a constant rethinking of our project. These past few months have been intense, but full of hope and knowledge. For us, this programme has been an opportunity to create value for Fundación Impulsa and to make people aware of us.

Explain your project to us in more detail…

Fundación Impulsa is the bridge between the talent from professional training and companies. For this reason we contact secondary schools in our territory and we request that the teachers recommend three students to us with the attitude, aptitude, talent and motivation required for vocational training through qualitative questionnaires. From all of the questionnaires we receive, we carry out a first elimination which based on the aptitudes shown by the student in this document. Then we carry out a second elimination round based on socioeconomic income, as a maximum, our scholarship holders have an annual household income of €30,000. The students who enter into the next stage will attend a personal interview with the team at Fundación Impulsa to demonstrate their aptitudes and talent in their chosen studies. In the last stage, we are left with the final selection of students to whom we are going to grant the scholarships for the year in question.

Furthermore, our scholarship holders receive support from a mentor throughout the course of their Intermediate Level training. Their mentor is a professional from the student’s education sector and they are the person who will bring the student closer to the world of business and work; they are an impartial person who will guide their students throughout their vocational training. On the other hand, they can carry out paid internships in their area of study, and once they have completed their intermediate level training, they are guaranteed a place in the labour market.

How many companies are currently supporting the project?

We are currently working with 27 companies sponsoring this project and 9 companies or collaborating institutions. Some of the most important companies in the area are Bon Preu, Casa Tarradellas, Divasa-Farmavic, La Fraga or Seidor who award scholarships to our students who receive the aforementioned household income, , and they offer internships and work opportunities to our scholarship holders.