After 11 days at sea I arrived in Spain, leaving my country Gambia behind.
When I arrived, I started looking for work, but without any qualifications nor papers ... it was really hard.
I survived by doing odd jobs here and there , but I wanted to achieve something better.
At Pinardi we are heirs to a dream created over 200 years ago
when the Salesian founder, St. John Bosco,
discovered that there were a lot of young people who needed help,
who were being exploited at work, who had a lot of personal problems...
and he decided to dedicate his life to helping them achieve their dreams.
And we do it with our own educational style that makes us different from others.
When I arrived, I was 10. I was on the street and I didn't understand anything.
I really felt that everyone was looking at me like I was a weirdo.
And when they talked to me all I heard was noise...
At school I had a hard time and found it really hard to study.
We are proud of our relationship with Pinardi.
They have been able to bring together
private enterprise, public administration and NGOs
and get everybody working in the same direction on something which we believe is absolutely essential: the employability
of young people at risk of exclusion.
This is where the JP Morgan foundation wanted to allocate part of its investment.
At home we needed money and I didn't know what to do.
I felt I had a responsibility to help my family.
Meeting the people at Pinardi changed my life.
First Professional Experience is a project
that aims to help you get out those tools, those skills
and those abilities we know you have
and put them to use in a company in a real working environment.
I've always liked sport, and especially football.
But I got a knee injury and had to look for a different way forward...
Pinardi helped me a lot to work out new ways,
they helped me learn a trade, to believe in myself and to grow as a person.
For Pinardi's young people to achieve real integration in the workplace,
we need companies like Meliá
that give us a chance to train them from the start,
to accompany them professionally
and to offer them an opportunity to work in their hotels.
OK Lucia, we are starting the First Professional Experience training in the Meliá hotel schools.
You will be accompanied at all times
and there will always be someone at your service to give you more personal help.
If we achieve the objective, which we hope will be that you get a contract from Meliá,
you should know that Pinardi will always be here
to help you in your professional development.
One of the most important aspects of our Corporate Responsibility strategy
is the employability of young people at risk of social and and workplace exclusion.
That is why we try to bring these people into a real working environment,
a real learning environment, which is the hotel.
My first day at work, I was really nervous,
I didn't know how my colleagues would accept me
and I didn't dare ask anything.
I felt like I was going to bother them and that would make them not want to accept me.
More than professional training, which there is no doubt we have given them,
we have also given them social training. They were all really shy guys and they ended up with a really positive attitude.
They were all really shy guys and they ended up with a really positive attitude.
I really wanted to do well and to show everything I'd learned.
My colleagues made me feel really comfortable
and patiently explained the work I had to do.
Little by little I began to feel comfortable in the kitchen.
When they arrive, the whole team makes an effort to help them. But they also have a lot to offer themselves.
I would say the Pinardi people are hard-working,
honest people who work hard every day and are really, really great workmates.
For my team it has been very interesting to work with the guys
because it has raised a lot of emotion,
it has been really satisfying for them.
The only thing I expect from them in the future is to see that they taken the opportunity
and all the effort we have all put in to help them find their way.
One of the things that most moved me
was the totally natural way my colleagues welcomed me.
At first, I thought it was just going to be work, but they really helped me to open up to others.
At Meliá I have found not just colleagues, but very good friends.
Most of the Pinardi guys working with us today
have shown an enormous capacity for learning
and a lot of loyalty, which nowadays is to be admired given the times we live in.
You can see that they appreciate the effort the project requires from us all: f
rom us and from them. That makes us enormously grateful.
When we start projects like this
in a company and a business unit,
you have a direct influence on the pride of belonging, the work environment
and, of course, also on the diversity of the workforce, which is something that always enriches a company.
I am very proud of what I have achieved, but I also cannot forget
that there are many colleagues who need an opportunity.
That is why I continue to work with Pinardi.
When we hire someone from Pinardi, it means that we have done things well
and it's a big success for all of us and makes us really happy.
From then on, however, we treat them exactly like anyone else.
My dream would be to become a great chef.
I have learned that everything is a matter of hard work
and Meliá has given me the chance to continue to learn my trade
so I hope one day I can achieve it.
The goal of Pinardi is that all young people achieve their dreams.
We all need a chance in life.
We all need orientation.
I would like my experience to serve as an example.
The dream of everyone who takes part is that this could be copied
in many more company hotels, if possible in all of them, to give more opportunities
to more young people who need it.
It's a lot of work but it's so rewarding that
I would advise all the hotels to try it. I'm sure they will love it.
I am proud to work with the Pinardi Foundation
because they provide us with great professionals
that make me so happy to see how proud they are to work for the company,
their level of commitment, their loyalty ... This is really the type of people I want to work with us.
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