A large-scale programme for mainstream employers in staff training, workplace adaption, and job placement

Yo Puedo, ¿Y Vos? in Costa Rica advances workplace diversity. From 2012-2024, it trained 1.5K people with disabilities, adapted 5K workplaces, and expanded regionally, promoting inclusive employment.

The Yo Puedo, ¿Y Vos? Foundation, a DPO founded in 2012 in San José, advocates for labour inclusion of people with diverse disabilities. Its Yo Puedo Trabajar programme trains company staff on diversity, reaching over one million people by 2024. It ensures job suitability and promotes inclusive workplaces. From 2012 to 2024 over 1,500 people with disabilities found jobs, approximately 5,000 workplaces were adapted, and the programme has expanded to neighbouring countries.

Problems Targeted

Most people with disabilities in Costa Rica experience employment exclusion due to prejudice and a lack of support.

Solution, Innovation and Impact

The Yo Puedo ¿Y Vos? Foundation supports companies employing people with various types of disabilities through its Yo Puedo Trabajar programme, which includes three main components: (1) awareness sessions for companies, (2) job assessments to ensure candidate suitability, and (3) support in creating accessible workspaces. Acting as an intermediary, the foundation promotes inclusion, offering ongoing follow-up support for job retention and advancement. Its large-scale awareness initiatives include sensitization and training workshops for all staff in partnered companies, training over one million people; and its website offers Costa Rican Sign Language courses, with 30,000 enrolees in 2024. Additionally, the foundation organizes inclusive musicals and runs the ‘Different but Equal’ campaign, selling socks designed by people with Down syndrome in collaboration with Red Point clothing stores. Employment placements increased from 700 in 2021 to 1,500 in 2023. Over 12 years it has worked with more than 100 companies, created 5,000 adapted jobs, and trained 1.5 million people in human rights across Costa Rica and Central America.

Funding, Outlook and Transferability

The project is funded by donations from participating companies and institutions. The foundation also raises funds through campaigns, and generates income from its sign language courses, consultancy, and training services._x000D__x000D_The programme has been replicated in neighbouring Central American countries, including El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. (Zero Project Awardee 2025)

Pictures

The “Yo Puedo Trabajar” programme ensures job suitability and promotes inclusive workplaces.

The “Yo Puedo Trabajar” programme ensures job suitability and promotes inclusive workplaces.

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