Spain: Best practices in labour integration

According to a recent study by the ?Fundació Un Sol Món?, in Spain there are currently 189 labour integration enterprises that help more than 4,000 individuals to find work, about 60% of whom are in an unprivileged situation. Among these beneficiaries are migrants, physically and psychologically disabled individuals, mentally disadvantaged patients and women and men who risk social exclusion. Fifty five of these enterprises are located in Catalonia and 50 in the Basque Country.

Construction, trade, waste collection and recycling are the sectors that most labour integration enterprises work in. They have an average annual turnover of 240,000 euros, 35% are self-sustaining and 58% say that they are making a profit. Fourty four percent of profits are invested in increasing the number of workers and 13% to research & development. Thirty six percent of their customers are other private enterprises and 30% public administrations.

Also according to the study, about 15% of the employees remain in the same enterprise as integration workers, about 20% join the staff, about 55% join the ordinary labour market and about 10% fails.

In spite of being innovative, young and developing, generating jobs and having a strong social impact, the labour integration sector is mostly made up of enterprises that are too small. Rather than create new enterprises it is necessary to help the existing ones grow and to devote more funds to research.

More info:
http://obrasocial.caixacatalunya.es