Certainly there were many citizens who in recent weeks walked through the Lartzábal neighborhood, near the Maule Bridge and in front of the Aldi supermarket, and asked themselves to know what they were doing in the building on Vicente Cooperman Street. They are working to launch an innovation and experimentation space soon to integrate social work into Orsoldea.
In the words of the city's mayor, Aizpia Otaegui, who visited the place a few days ago, it is “a space that will allow us to continue working to integrate the groups that face the greatest difficulty.” It must be remembered that this project is included in the Perbisto Plan of the Basque Government, for which it has allocated up to six million euros in this specific case.
One of the challenges and strategic lines identified in the Regional Strategic Plan is the creation of a social and practical inclusion pole that places the most vulnerable people and groups at the centre, in particular, in the Orsoldea region. The goal is to restore all jobs lost due to Covid, and reduce the unemployment rate to less than 10%.
In 2021, Mayor Otaegui and Edoya Mendia, Secretary of Labor and Employment and Vice President, have already introduced the project. This innovation and experimentation centre, which aims to be a reference space in the Basque Country for experimenting with public employment policies and social inclusion at work, will offer advice and support in different career transitions. In addition to being a meeting place for work groups, spaces will be enabled for vocational training, providing opportunities for individual and group training; Also a stable physical space where people seeking work are provided through an educational area, technology space, analogue area and counseling.
