Inclusive Foundation Promotes Employment Inclusion for Young People with Disabilities in Cartagena and Calls for Expanded Opportunities

In just three months, 15 young people with disabilities have been placed in jobs with major companies in Cartagena. The goal is for many more to follow suit.

What for many represents simply a job, for more than fifteen young people with disabilities who have been employed in the last three months thanks to the Inclusive Foundation has meant independence, dignity, confidence, and a new opportunity to build their lives.

Behind each job placement are families who are now regaining hope, strengthening their finances, and proving that inclusion is possible when society decides to believe in talent and provide real opportunities.

This significant result has been made possible by the work that the Inclusive Foundation has been carrying out for more than three years, training young people with disabilities to meet the needs of Cartagena’s productive sector and demonstrating that barriers can be overcome when there are effective processes for training, support, and access to employment. Currently, young people trained by the foundation are part of the teams at renowned organizations such as Hotel Las Américas, Hotel Capilla del Mar, Dreams Karibana Cartagena Golf & Spa Resort, Aguas de Cartagena, and Conalog Bavaria, among other companies that have invested in the talent, commitment, and capabilities of this population.

These achievements are the result of a strategy developed in partnership with the University of Cartagena and other allied entities, which has provided technical training, strengthened socio-emotional skills, promoted autonomy, and prepared participants to successfully face the challenges of the working world. But the impact goes far beyond finding employment. Each young person who enters the workforce represents a story of family transformation.

Parents and caregivers find peace of mind seeing their children have opportunities to develop independently, while the beneficiaries themselves strengthen their self-esteem, broaden their life expectations, and become the protagonists of their own future.

Today, Inclusivo Fundación has established itself as a training center for the employability of people with disabilities, coordinating efforts with certified organizations to offer relevant programs aligned with the needs of the labor market, thus helping to reduce the gap between training and employment opportunities.

The Challenges

However, the success achieved has highlighted a new challenge: more and more companies are interested in hiring people with disabilities, but the number of young people receiving the necessary training to meet this growing demand is still insufficient. Given this situation, Inclusivo Fundación respectfully calls upon the Mayor’s Office of Cartagena to build partnerships that will expand the reach of these training programs and consolidate a labor inclusion policy that benefits hundreds of young people and their families.

“Companies are demonstrating their belief in the talent of people with disabilities. Today, the great challenge is preparing many more young people to meet this demand. We have the experience, the training model, and the commitment; with the support of the district administration, we can multiply these opportunities and make Cartagena a national leader in workplace inclusion,” highlighted Karen Guardo, executive director of Inclusivo Fundación.

Inclusivo Fundación reaffirms its commitment to continue providing life skills training, promoting the educational, social, and professional inclusion of people with disabilities, and demonstrating that when a city invests in opportunities, it not only transforms the life of an individual, but also that of their family, and contributes to the sustainable development of the entire community.