María Teresa Pulido at the launch of the second edition of the volunteer programme ‘ORIENTA- T’

María Teresa Pulido, Ferrovial’s Director of Corporate Strategy, took part in the presentation of the second edition of the ‘ORIENTA-T’ programme, which took place in Madrid’s Menesiano School, to an audience of 300 Secondary 4 and Baccalaureate pupils from both the host school and Arturo Soria school. Carmen Vela, Secretary of State for R&D+i, attended the presentation, and there were inspiring speeches from a number of women in executive positions to give visibility to STEM careers, such as Cristina Gomis, Corporate Responsibility Manager for Zurich Insurance; Helena Herrero, President and General Manager for HP Inc in Spain and Portugal; and Beatriz Faro, President Europe/Asia Pacific Region – Developed Markets for Pfizer. The main aims of the ‘Orienta-T’ programme, implemented by the Junior Achievement Foundation, are to raise awareness of employment opportunities in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers, helping students in their decision to target their careers towards these professions, which have a bright future. In this second edition, the programme hopes to reach 10,000 students from schools and colleges throughout Spain, either directly or indirectly. In her speech, Maria Teresa Pulido highlighted the fact that new technologies and the increasingly global context in which companies operate require adequate preparation, international experience and teamwork. She also pointed at the importance of driving a culture of flexibility in the face of change, and of being open to innovation. In short, to succeed, we must learn to use the resources we have available as effectively as possible. Carmen Vela closed the event with a speech on “A professional career with a gender perspective”, in which she shared her own professional experiences and encouraged her listeners to take their own decisions and to work hard, with motivation and resilience, because “the satisfaction derived from doing what you like doing is enormous”.

About the ‘Orienta-T’ programme

The Orienta-T initiative, launched last year by Ferrovial together with the Junior Achievement Foundation, has had an impact on over 1 000 students. The aim of the project is to promote the uptake of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) degrees amongst students aged between 14 and 16, given that statistics show a decrease of 25% in Europe and 40% in Spain in enrolment rates for these subjects. Over the two months of the project, events were held in Madrid, Valencia, Avilés and Barcelona, in which volunteers from Ferrovial shared their professional experiences, took part in roundtables and facilitated various workshops. A series of educational materials were one of the results of such events, and these will be distributed throughout schools and colleges in Spain, thus multiplying the impact of the initiative.