Fundación Generation Spain strikes gold: Solar Diversity Champion 2025

Thank you so much for this recognition! Winning the Gold Solar Diversity Champion Award 2025 is a truly meaningful milestone for Fundación Generation Spain. It reaffirms our conviction that the green transition must be inclusive if it is to be truly just.

This award validates our ongoing commitment to ensuring that people who have historically faced barriers to employment – such as women, migrants, older workers, and the long-term unemployed – are not left behind in Europe’s clean energy future. For us, these individuals are more than beneficiaries. They are voices of resilience and determination, representing thousands who are ready to rebuild their futures. This recognition is not only a celebration – it’s a powerful reminder of why we exist: to restore their dignity, confidence, and stability through meaningful employment.

Receiving this award in the same year that we celebrate our 10th anniversary makes it even more special. It marks a decade of impact, learning, and collective effort  – and inspires us to keep pushing forward with even greater ambition and purpose.

At the core of this recognition lies our pioneering solar training programme  – the first of its kind in Spain, designed specifically for vulnerable populations and offered completely free of charge. What truly sets it apart is our holistic methodology: beyond technical training, we provide mentorship, employability coaching, and soft skills development so participants are fully prepared to thrive in the workplace. 

From the beginning, we involve employers in the design of our programmes to ensure every aspect aligns with real labour market needs. This close collaboration guarantees that participants acquire what companies truly value and need. In this regard, our success is also rooted in our collaborative ecosystem, which brings together public institutions, private companies, and philanthropic partners to ensure that every graduate is connected to real employment pathways.

Our data-driven approach is another key differentiator. We rigorously measure outcomes such as graduation, job placement, retention rates, and well-being indicators, allowing us to continually refine our model and demonstrate real impact. The results speak for themselves: a 90% graduation rate and 85% employment within six months of completing our green jobs programmes.

This recognition strengthens our commtiment to expand our portfolio of green professions and reach more individuals facing barriers to employment. Beyond our solar training programme, we are actively developing new professions to meet the growing demands of the energy transition, including our upcoming heat pump programme launching in 2026, which will ensure that the green economy creates real opportunities for all, particularly those who have historically been excluded from stable employment.

In particular, Spain faces a striking social paradox: structural unemployment, and a shortage of talent exists side by side. More than 2.5 million people are unemployed, while over 500,000 job vacancies remain unfilled, many in green and technical sectors. Yet, those who most need opportunity are often left behind. By scaling our programmes within Spain, we will continue to provide accessible, inclusive training that bridges the talent gap and enables everyone to participate in the green transition. 

We are beginning to scale our model both within Spain and across Europe through our partnership with InnoEnergy’s European Solar Academy, an initiative supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Although still at an early stage, this collaboration lays the groundwork for harmonising training standards and delivering EU-recognised certifications. Once fully implemented, it will strengthen employability and mobility for our graduates while contributing to a more integrated and inclusive European workforce.

Additionally, our methodology has been recognised by the European Union as a case study within the Social Innovation Match initiative of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). Our model is designed to be modular and scalable, enabling other regions to adopt and adapt it to their specific needs. 

Beyond Europe, we share our tools, methodologies, and data-driven insights across Fundación Generation Spain’s global network in 17 countries, adapting our inclusive approach to diverse contexts and amplifying its impact.

The solar sector is at the heart of Europe’s green future – and that future must be truly for everyone. Celebrating diversity practices is crucial because it highlights the organisations and individuals working to ensure that the benefits of the energy transition reach all parts of society, including those who have long been left out of opportunity.

Diversity is a source of strength and innovation. It brings together a wider range of experiences, perspectives, and skills – fueling creativity, adaptability, and resilience. In a fast-moving and ever-evolving sector like solar, these qualities aren’t optional –they’re essential. By recognising and celebrating inclusive practices, we inspire the entire industry to put equity at the heart of its growth, making the solar transition not only sustainable, but also fair, inclusive, and empowering for everyone.

Awards like the Solar Diversity Champion Awards play a crucial role in showing what’s possible and inspiring others to act. They help make inclusion a core part of sector development, rather than an afterthought. Because ensuring that solar growth is not only about producing clean energy, but also about creating opportunities for everyone. 

For Fundación Generation Spain, this recognition boosts our visibility, strengthens our credibility, and opens the door to new partnerships, enabling us to scale our impact even further. At the end, we’re not just expanding a training programme – we’re growing a collaborative model that proves the solar industry can be a powerful engine of inclusion and opportunity, for everyone, everywhere.

Our success shows that inclusive training isn’t just possible – it’s transformative. We hope to inspire other organisations to embrace holistic approaches that blend technical training with personal support, ensuring that no one is left behind in the green transition.

To achieve this, several steps are essential: involving employers in programme design to guarantee relevance, building cross-sector partnerships that connect education with real jobs, and tailoring programmes to meet learners where they are. Many of our learners arrive with limited formal education or long gaps in employment – yet, with personalised guidance, mentorship, and encouragement, they rediscover their confidence and rebuild their futures.

Because true sustainability is not only about reducing emissions – it’s about restoring dignity and inclusion. At Fundación Generation Spain, we don’t just train workers; we empower people. And by doing so, we prove that those too often excluded can thrive – playing a leading role in shaping Europe’s clean, fair, and human energy future.