Mexico City, July 31, 2024.- In order to promote joint and articulated work towards labor and social inclusion, the COLABORE Pan American Center of the Universidad Panamericana and the Secretariat of Labor of Mexico Citysigned a collaboration agreement.
The event was attended by Ms. Alejandra Flores Bautista, general director of the Instituto de Capacitación para Trabajo (Institute for Labor Training). Instituto de Capacitación para el Trabajo (ICAT) of Mexico City and Mr. José Julio Dávila (ICAT) of Mexico City and Mr. José Julio Dávila García, general director of employment of the Ministry of Labor.
Universidad PanamericanaYazmín Mendoza Reyes, Director of Social Commitment; Sylvia Enríquez Cordero, General Coordinator of the Pan American COLABORE Center; MBA. Antonio Castro D'Franchis, director of University Life, and Salvador Beltrán del Río Madrid, director of Institutional Development.
About the agreement
The Pan American Center COLABORE is a program of the Universidad Panamericana dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities. Its objective is to achieve the participation of this sector in social and economic development in accordance with the dignity of people, promoting a culture of integration of people with disabilities in our society.
The agreement was signed by Alejandra Flores, José Julio Dávila and Yazmín Mendoza. This will support various activities that promote labor and social inclusion in Mexico City and will be added to the specific tasks and objectives of the COLABORE Program, especially those related to people who have some kind of disability.
Achievements of the COLABORE Pan American Center
In her message, the Director of Social Commitment highlighted the achievements of the Pan American COLABORE Center in Mexico City: "Throughoutthese 18 years, we have offered more than 18 types of services to 250 companies throughout the country and have worked with more than 3,000 people who have benefited from our programs. In addition, close to 4,000 Panamericana students have been involved, directly and indirectly, in our projects."
He also emphasized the importance of collaboration between universities and public institutions: "The relevance of collaborating with public institutions lies in the fact that we act as bridges. The alliance of the triple helix models (government, educational institutions and private sector) must be more specific in the projects we carry out to benefit society".
"It is crucial to impact not only at the local level, but at the national level, and to approach these projects with a holistic, comprehensive and multidisciplinary vision," he said.
He added: "It is essential that educational institutions, by contributing to society, join these projects. We need to identify, modify and unify efforts to reach more people who benefit from labor and social inclusion in Mexico". He also indicated that four courses will begin in August and will conclude in mid-November, and three of these will have the possibility of certification.
ICAT Objectives
For her part, Ms. Flores Bautista highlighted ICAT's achievements and objectives: "This year we are dedicating it to strengthening ties with institutions such as yours, which I consider crucial to continue moving forward.
He also pointed out: "In these 10 years, we have trained 112,900 people, a significant figure that also represents our social and life commitment. Of these people, 61% are young people, with almost 40,000 young people trained, among whom 6,400 have a disability. This group is a priority population for us.
"During these 10 years, we have initiated 5,300 competency evaluation processes and issued 4,800 certificates. Last year, we were the ICAT with the highest number of evaluations performed," he added.
Finally, he declared: "We have attended a high rate of 82.5% of people with disabilities: 4,362 with visual impairment, 609 with motor impairment and 465 with hearing impairment.
Pan-American Responsibilities
For his part, the director of Vida Universitaria said: "As a university, our main responsibility is to our students. It is crucial for the development of any country and state that there is effective coordination between the public sector, the private sector and the education sector, especially in projects that promote job training and the inclusion of people with diverse abilities".
"At Pan American, our training of students should not only focus on preparing them for employment or to start their own business. (...) We must prepare them to serveothers," he stated.
He commented: "That is why we have an area dedicated to social commitment. It is essential to train professionals with an attitude of service who recognize the reality of vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities and the elderly".
He stressed that Pan American has organized a "Job Fair for People with Disabilities" in recent years. "Poverty and disability are often closely linked; people with disabilities face a double vulnerability," he reported.
"The projects derived from this agreement will contribute significantly to support this vulnerable group. After seeing the figures presented, I am very happy and convinced that we are collaborating with the best," he concluded.
Commitment to society
With these actions, Universidad Panamericana joins in partnership and validates COLABORE's commitment to work towards building a more just and egalitarian society, where all individuals, regardless of their abilities, have the opportunity to contribute and develop fully.
Learn more about COLABORE at: https://compromisosocial.up.edu.mx/colabore-cdmx/
