Enel has received double recognition for its work in aiding the education of Latin America's less well-off and give them a chance in the world of work, through Chilectra and Edenor, the Group's companies who work in Chile and Peru respectively.
In Chile Chilectra's Cattedra programme, an initiative developed as part of the Endesa Enduca initiative, has been rewarded for its work with the Good Entrepreneurial Citizen prize. The project has the aim of enabling young students to find work by helping them gain skills relevant to the electricity industry at technical colleges.
The programme has at its heart a complete, integrated idea of education, which encourages personal, professional and familial development of those taking part. Cattedra offers 787 hours of teaching each year, and also offers training regarding electricity to the student's families, benefiting third and fourth year students from six technical institutes in capital city Santiago.
Chilectra was given the prize by the North American Chilean Chamber of Commerce, which recognises CSR initiatives that benefit communities in which businesses operate.
In Peru meanwhile the IV Premio Corresponsables award was given to a similar Edelnor initiative, the New Pachacútec Technical Institute, which was selected from among 405 candidates from 18 countries, including Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Venezuela.
The school is in the Ventanilla district of Peruvian capital Lima, one of the poorest areas of the city and one which has a particularly high rate of illiteracy. And it was for the poor children who live there that Edelnor, alongside the Catholic University and Bishopric of El Callao, created the Technical-Professional specialist qualification in electricity. As well as establishing this new course, Edelnor also built the institute and ensured is functioning, as well as its observing of academic standards.
The aim is to train electricity industry professionals and help get them into the jobs market, and to help facilitate this colleagues from Edelnor contribute to the scheduling and content of courses, as well as the teaching of them, which also involves employees for other companies. Over 400 students have graduated from the institute.
After having already received five awards the initiative received its latest recognition by the Premio Corresponsables Foundation, a non-profit organisation founded by the Media Responsable publishing house. Since 2011 the project has been part of the Enabling Electricity programme, which brings together a number of initiatives that bring electricity access to some of the poorest areas of the planet.