More than an opportunity to be included in the labor market, Celpe, distributor of the Neoenergia Group in Pernambuco, develops, together with the apprentices with Down Syndrome, a project that provides an unprecedented professional and psychosocial experience in Brazil. The young people are accompanied daily by a multidisciplinary team, focusing on development, results and innovation through the Murakami Method. The purpose is to stimulate cognition and expand the intellectual capacity, encouraging to go beyond the mere fulfillment of corporate objectives.

For this, Celpe structured a professional environment that could cover the most diverse areas of learning for a person with Down Syndrome. With a team formed by a speech therapist, psychologist and educators, the energy distributor idealized a specific space for learning in the work environment. The young people were allocated in areas where they can develop from simple activities to more complex. The goal is to transform the corporate environment into an inclusive and aggregating experience.

"The initiative has been developed for more than a year and young people have a high performance in the tasks they carry out. Last November, one of these young people, who was an apprentice, was hired by the company as an assistant because of his important contribution to the company, "says Daniela Motta, Human Resources manager at Celpe.

On a daily basis, young people can develop several skills, focusing on results and professional growth. The areas that received these professionals point out that everyone has a high performance within their tasks and are open to new learning. Finding initiatives that focus on the cognitive development of this group of young people is not common in Brazil. In spite of corporate inclusion programs for people with Down Syndrome, most companies only focus on demonstrating a young person's ability to fulfill the tasks required. However, the focus on intellectual development ends up being overlooked within some proposals.

METHODOLOGY

The young people find in the company all the structure prepared for an advance not only in the fulfillment of the demands, but also in the reach of a professional and personal improvement. From follow up by psychology, education and speech therapy professionals, based on the Murakami methodology - teaching modality through the articulation of knowledge, providing the young autonomy for the execution of activities and resolution of daily issues with a focus on comprehension/contextualization/argumentation and decision - young people learn, at work, to value their strengths and improve aspects in need of improvement.

With a duration of 17 months, the experience intends to condition the young person to the labor market, generating knowledge and development. The goal of the company is to absorb these professionals according to the evolution in performance. Perpetuating the knowledge acquired in the project for other companies is also one of the mottos of the initiative, which intends to make the case an example to be followed, enabling the development of an increasingly inclusive labor market.