Junín is a city of 101,762 inhabitants (Census 2022) in the northwest of the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina). The main activities are: agriculture, industry, commerce, gastronomy, tourism and services. There are 4,032 private companies employing 9,177 people (Secretariat of Economic Development, 2022), of which only national or multinational companies work in inclusive culture, representing approximately 9% of private companies. There are in turn, 2,334 PcD of working age registered (ANDIS,2022) of which only 22% work (one third do so informally), 6.5% are actively looking for work, 38% have a Disability Pension and of the remaining 33.5%, it is estimated that more than half have stopped looking for work. The municipality currently has a database with 60 CVs of PcD in search of work.

From the survey conducted during the Local Innovators Program (AYNI, 2022), the following findings were identified: a) prejudice and lack of information on the part of companies, and b) lack of proactivity on the part of PwD, since many of them do not look for a job because they do not know, are not interested or are frustrated after doing internships without being hired. Thus, they feel that they have no possibilities or that work is not for them, and end up having as their only source of income an insufficient pension to achieve economic independence (less than 25% of an initial market salary). We can also observe the decisive role played by families, which in many cases have formed and raised their children in an outdated paradigm where segregation and overprotection prevailed, mainly of young people.

Although the problem is not being addressed by local or national consulting firms, Junín has some cases of labor inclusion with different results. The most successful processes were carried out in a professional manner with the support of specialists, such as the company Molino Tassara, which has four PcD among its permanent employees, achieving very good productivity and a general improvement in the work environment. Those processes that did not achieve a good result are due, among other reasons, to errors in the selection process and allocation of positions, lack of preparation of the work environment and/or physical adaptation of the space, employment of PcD to achieve quotas or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, generating a negative perception of the inclusion processes.

Professionals working on disability and labor inclusion consider work as a producer of values and a mechanism to expand and strengthen social relations. They propose work spaces where work is an organizing axis and a means to project a more inclusive and integrated society.

Meeting with Change Network: group formed by the project team and influential social actors that are promoters of a systemic change in labor inclusion for PwD, composed of business chambers, PwD network and families, and Human Resources consultants. Meetings will be held for networking, information, sharing, review of plans and execution of the project.

Sponsorship Program: recruitment of businessmen to be part of the program, training on disability issues, assignment of PcD to such sponsors, and monthly follow-up meetings.

Accompaniment of the inclusion processes within the companies: create a team of professionals to accompany the PcD and their families, and provide support to the companies in order to prepare the work environment; provide assistance during the first months of work to ensure a successful process and that there are no negative impacts.

Talks with companies and chambers: Hold meetings with companies and chambers with the objective of achieving commitment and mobilizing businessmen and leadership teams to work on inclusive culture and incorporate PcD in the next searches.

Workshops with PcD and families: meetings in community spaces with the objective of informing, mobilizing and empowering. Offer help to update CVs and request information to consolidate them in a database.

Creation of a web platform with data and information: Create a platform in the cloud to store CVs, personal data, job searches, data from companies, consultants and professionals, with administrator profiles and different types of users. 

Awareness and dissemination in social networks: share useful information about the initiative, prepare and publish information related to the program, job searches, addresses of interest, testimonials, tutorials, etc.

Outputs

Change Network Meetings:

12 Monthly change network meetings for agreements, coordination and project progress with employers, PcD, families, HR consultants.

Sponsorship Program:

15 active sponsors, each with at least 2 sponsored PcD.

30 companies or entrepreneurs participating in the meetings

Accompaniment of inclusion processes within the companies:

8 inclusive work environments

Talks with companies and chambers:

40 meetings with companies and chambers

30 new inclusive job searches (that include PcD as applicants)

8 genuine jobs for PcD

Workshops for PcD and families:

10 talks for groups of PcD and their families with 100 participants.

30 new PcD presenting their updated CVs or requesting help in putting them together

50 CVs updated in database

Web platform with data and information created:

1 Web platform updated

Awareness and dissemination in social networks:

30 posts on social networks

Reach 2 national media that disseminate information.

13.2 Intermediate results

Meeting with Red de Cambio:

Employers, PcD, families and HR consultants hold network meetings as a space for generating agreements and consensus.

Sponsorship Program:

Entrepreneurs are interested in being part of the Sponsorship Program, helping PcD to look for a job with their network of contacts.

Accompaniment of inclusion processes within companies:

There are more work environments adapted to PcD.

Talks with companies and chambers:

Companies are interested in inclusive culture issues and hire advice from consultants or professionals.

Companies and HR consulting firms begin to generate inclusive job searches

Companies break down prejudices regarding the hiring of PwD

Workshops for PcD and families:

Spontaneous presentation of CVs of PcD in consulting firms, companies and Employment Office of the Government of Junin increases.

PcD make their first CV with the support of professionals, as a result of the program's awareness-raising and dissemination talks.

PcD are confident that their job searches will generate positive results.

PwD see employment as an alternative to disability pension (and the benefits of independent living).

The paradigm of PcD families changes and they support the search for employment.

Web platform with data and information:

Companies, professionals and PcD collaborate in sharing information and keeping it updated to make it a reliable and sustainable element

Awareness and dissemination in social networks:

Companies and PcD follow and interact with inclusion social networks.

Medium- and long-term goals:

70% of medium and large companies have inclusive culture programs.

50% of PcD with employment

700 CVs of PcD incorporated into the database

FUPIS (Familias Unidas para la Inclusión Social) with the control and audit of the Red de Cambio (Change Network).

Directorate for People with Disabilities. Government of Junín (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina).

Local Government leader: Karina Sánchez - Director of the area for People with Disabilities of the Municipality of Junín karinasanchez@junin.gob.ar

Social leader: Claudio Garcia - President of FUPIS (Familias Unidas para la Inclusión Social) zclaudiogarcia@gmail.com / fupisbsas@gmail.com

JUNIN, ARGENTINA. THE GOLD AWARD IN THE 2022 LOCAL INNOVATORS PROGRAM

TEAMS FROM MEXICO, COLOMBIA AND ARGENTINA PRESENT PROGRESS AND TRANSFORMATIVE OBJECTIVES