Reinventing themselves in the 60s: the effort of Aura and the program that made it possible

BarcelonaThere's no age limit to starting over, or so Aura Elena Villasmil Rojas has proven. At 61, with a wealth of experience—30 years working as an administrative assistant in banking in her native Venezuela—Aura found herself in Tarragona facing the enormous challenge of starting from scratch in a new, unfamiliar, and often closed-off job market for people over 50. Her arrival in 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, added an extra layer of difficulty to a migration process she admits she had never imagined. Faced with this uncertainty, Aura relied on attitude as her tool for navigating this change: "Having the desire to take on new challenges is essential," she explains. With this clear objective, an opportunity arose through the Intermedia Foundation, a key organization supporting people at risk of social exclusion.

At Intermedia, Aura not only received guidance but also found a tailor-made career path through the Més Treball program. This resource was the necessary bridge for Aura's entry into the job market. The organization not only helped her understand the specific characteristics of the Tarragona business community but also provided her with specific training in customer service. After completing her retail assistant training, Aura did an internship at the company Juguettoss. Her commitment did not go unnoticed by her superiors: the company decided to invest in her talent and offered her an employment contract.

More Work: an alliance for the future of employment

The story of Aura is one of the many fruits of the Més Feina grant program, promoted by the La Caixa Foundation and the European Social Fund. This program is not a one-off intervention, but a structural commitment with a budget of 48 million euros. Its planning extends until 2029, a timeframe that ensures a real and sustained impact on 80 projects run by social organizations throughout Spain. The program focuses on groups particularly affected by unemployment and relies on organizations like the Intermedia Foundation. At the local level, the figures confirm the model's success. According to data provided by Intermedia, in 2025, milestones were reached that demonstrate the system's effectiveness: the organization assisted a total of 105 people in vulnerable situations. Of these, 56 received specialized vocational training. The most encouraging result is the 52 successful job placements achieved. The success of the Aura case is not a coincidence, but the result of a comprehensive support strategy that understands the needs of the labor market. The collaboration between the La Caixa Foundation, the European Social Fund, and local entities such as the Intermedia Foundation ensures that integration pathways are not mere administrative procedures, but real bridges to employability. This networking model allows professionals with extensive experience to retrain and contribute their added value to local businesses, thus combating the risk of exclusion that often threatens the over-50 age group.