Indra and the Universia Foundation collaborate on integrating young people with disabilities

Indra and the Universia Foundation have signed a collaboration agreement with the aim of promoting access to the job market for university students with disabilities, while improving their integration in society.

Both entities, in collaboration with leading Spanish universities, have launched a programme to promote internships at the multinational technology and consulting firm for university students with disabilities. The objective is to provide university students that have disabilities with hands-on training and experience in a corporate environment that promotes applying the acquired knowledge and facilitates access to qualified jobs in line with their training.

The Universia Foundation and Indra will collaborate in distributing the existing internship positions as well as in selecting the candidates that match the requested profiles. They will also help students adapt to their jobs and assign tutors, from Indra as well as the Universia Foundation, who will advise the university students participating in internships during the programme.

The grants, aimed at students or recent graduates, will have a 12-month duration and will be accompanied by a training period at the university. Students will fill the internship positions at Indra work centres during the 2013-2014 academic year.

The collaboration agreement with the Universia Foundation is linked to Indra's "Combining Capabilities" programme, which has the aim of effectively integrating professionals with disabilities in the workforce and increasing the percentage of people with disabilities in the company. This programme forms part of Indra's diversity strategy, which is one of the pillars of talent management in the company as an element that promotes innovation.

”Combining Capabilities” includes all the aspects related to managing people in order to provide comprehensive coverage for professionals with disabilities: integration protocol, a disability unit, specific balance measures, agreements with entities that facilitate hiring these profiles, grants, communication and awareness campaigns for the entire workforce, and a corporate volunteering programme with special emphasis on actions related to people with disabilities.

Committed to integration

Indra's commitment to diversity and the integration of people with disabilities forms part of its Corporate Responsibility strategy. The company not only promotes and facilitates the integration of these professionals in the company, but it also develops innovative solutions and services that minimise the digital divide and favour the social and occupational integration of people with disabilities through its Accessible Technologies.

The company has already completed more than 40 R&D&i projects in this field and it has created eleven research chairs for accessible technologies in collaboration with various foundations and universities. The company also collaborates with other institutions towards the same objective, including the Rafael del Pino Foundation and the Toledo National Paraplegic Hospital Foundation.

Indra

Indra is the number one multinational consultancy and technology firm in Spain and a leader in Europe and Latin America. Innovation is the cornerstone of its business and sustainability, having allocated €550 million to R&D&i in the last three years, making it one of the leading companies in Europe in its sector in terms of investment. With sales approaching €3,000 million, nearly 60% of its income is from the international market. The company employs 42,000 professionals and has customers in 128 countries.

Universia Foundation

The Universia Foundation is a private, non-profit entity promoted by Universia, the largest university network in the world comprised by 1,232 universities in 23 countries. Its main objective is to promote research, employment and training for people with disabilities through the use of information and communication technologies.

The actions carried out are organised into four main programmes: Employment, Equal Opportunities and Inclusion, Information and Networking, and Development of the Ibero-American Space for Knowledge.

As of 9 March 2012, the Universia Foundation has been authorised by the National Public Service of the Ministry of Employment and Social Security as Placement Agency No. 1300000006. This classification will make it possible to optimise intermediation procedures and contribute towards improving the status of people with disabilities in terms of their occupational integration.

In 2013, the Universia received the Cermi.es Award in the Social and Cultural Action category for its efforts towards including people with disabilities in university and professional settings. In 2012, the Foundation received an award from the Konecta Foundation for its "Teledislab Platform" project, which promotes teleworking for people with disabilities. That same year, the Foundation was recognised as a finalist in the customer orientation category of the European Business Awards. Also on an international level, the Foundation signed the Global Compact in the last quarter of 2011, marking its commitment towards complying with the Principles of the United Nations Global Compact.