Forty-two young migrants who were under the tutelage of the Government of the Canary Islands until they reached adulthood have found a job opportunity in a hotel that reopened in August in Fuerteventura under an agreement signed by the Executive of this region and the Meliá chain.
The young people are beneficiaries of the Urdimbre. Challenges towards employment program, promoted by the Canary Islands Ministry of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Childhood and Families, through the Vice-Ministry of Social Welfare and the General Directorate for the Protection of Children and Families.
The head of this last department, Francisco Candil, and the general manager of Meliá Hoteles, Lucas Torán, have signed this agreement, which gives work to 42 young people in the renovated Paradisus Fuerteventura hotel after its renovation.
Candil explained at a press conference that this collaboration agreement with the Meliá chain "affects the objective of generating employment opportunities that guarantee that migrant minors under the tutelage of the Government of the Canary Islands, when they reach adulthood, can have social integration.
The Deputy Minister insisted that an integration alternative means "guaranteeing employment” and stressed that the Canary Islands Government is working on all the islands to "guarantee that actions like this mean an opportunity for these young people."
"We are often asked what happens to migrant minors when they reach adulthood and this is one of the things" that happens, that, thanks to the commitment of some companies, "they have an employment opportunity that, in the end, also" helps to cover the need for labor that exists in the Canary Islands, he indicated.
These programs, developed through the Canary Islands Employment Service, chambers of commerce and companies, allow more than 1,000 minors, some already of legal age, to join the various opportunities generated by the participating commercial entities.
"Right now we have about 5,000 minors in the Canary Islands and I hope we can generate opportunities for all of them and guarantee that they join the Canarian society with a job," he added.
The director of operations of Meliá hotels in the Canary Islands, María Morales, highlighted that initiatives like this "fit with the company's ID" and insisted that this group believes "in the transforming power of tourism in the destination."
Therefore, "as soon as we learned about this initiative, we were clear that we had to participate in it because it combines and solves two major problems of the destinations in the Canary Islands: the social integration of profiles such as these young people and the need to fill vacancies in the hotel sector, which is complicated," she said.
The first young migrants hired within the framework of this initiative began working at the hotel with its reopening on August 1, and the last ones joined about ten days ago.
Morales highlighted the degree of motivation and involvement of these young people and how grateful they are for having been given this job opportunity.
The general manager of Meliá Hoteles, Lucas Torán, explained that the hotel has 130 places for workers, which will be demanded "as needs arise and these profiles with training emerge."
The young people carry out their work in the areas of kitchen, dining room, cleaning services and maintenance in hotel group facilities located on the island of Fuerteventura.
Recently, room attendants have been incorporated, who will be specifically trained by the company. All employees also have accommodation in the hotels.
The Councilor for Employment Promotion of the Cabildo de Fuerteventura, Nuria Cabrera, has underlined the relevance of programs like this, aimed at former child migrants.
"These initiatives allow young people to access stable jobs, train and develop, thus strengthening our community and showing how collaboration between institutions and companies generates a positive impact," she said.
