The initiative consists of training and marine conservation actions
The TEB Barcelona Cooperative Group, specializing in the socio-occupational integration of people with intellectual disabilities, leads the social economy project "Social Cleaner Seabots", promoted by the "Projectes Singulars" program, created in 2005 by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia), whose objective is the conservation of seas and oceans. The project has the marine robotics company GPASEABOTS as a technological partner, as well as the participation of the employment integration organizations TEB Vallès, Llença't and Idària (Plataforma Educativa Group). The environmental awareness-raising firm Submón, which offers specialized training, will also be taking part.
"Social Cleaner Seabot" consists in a dozen actions focused on the development of a new service dedicated to the cleaning of beaches and harbours —as well as other places of calm waters— and managed by third social sector entities. The operations will be carried out with the SB 100 Cleaner drone, an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) created by GPASEABOTS and piloted by people belonging to groups at risk of social exclusion.
The goal is to generate employment for people in situation of vulnerability and hired through the social entities that make up the project.
Three training programs
The core of "Social Cleaner Seabot" will be the training actions, aimed at unemployed people or people at risk of exclusion. These include three courses, each with a minimum of ten places:
Introductory training in robotics and drones in marine environments (116 hours), to start on March 28th, 2022.
Training for the assembly and handling of cleaning drones (160 hours), to be held in May 2022.
Marine environmental awareness training capsules. Held by Submón, they will last four days each. Two of them will take place in the province of Barcelona, while Girona and Tarragona will host one each. These sessions are scheduled between April and June of this year, on dates to be confirmed.
In addition to these courses, there are specialized training actions, created for the technical staff of the entities run by Submón, and social awareness training for the staff of GPAINNOVA (the business group to which GPASEABOTS belongs), given by the TEB training team in Barcelona. Moreover, they will implement tasks of selection, accompaniment and monitoring of the students.
This initiative has been made possible thanks to the support of the Directorate of Social Economy and Cooperatives, which is part of the Department of Labor, Social Affairs and Families of the Catalan Governement.
Those interested in attending these training courses can contact TEB (tebsantandreu@teb.org) or GPASEABOTS (info@gpaseabots.com) directly, enclosing a short resumé and a letter of motivation.
About TEB
The mission of Grup Cooperatiu TEB is to work for an inclusive life for people with intellectual disabilities and to support their families in the city of Barcelona and the metropolitan area. To this end, it focuses on the generation of employment and day care services, sports activities, autonomy and independent living.
TEB has its origins in 1965, when a group of families of people with disabilities joined forces and created the first cooperative so that their sons and daughters could have opportunities. Currently, 650 people with disabilities work in the group's cooperatives. It also has 200 places in day care centers and 80 in support services for independent living through housing.
Acerca de GPASEABOTS
Established in Barcelona in May 2019 as a spin-off of the GPAINNOVA technology platform, GPASEABOTS focuses its activity on the development of solutions based on marine robotics, such as anchor buoys equipped with a technology to gather microplastics, hybridization, and automation technologies for recreational vessels and Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) for sheltered waters.
In 2019, a few months after its creation, GPASEABOTS was granted the Fuera de Serie (Exceptional) Design & Innovation Awards, in the category of Sustainability, organized by the Spanish press house Unidad Editorial, and the 2nd Award at the Nautic Tech International Investment Forum. In March last year, GPASEABOTS received the Innovative SME seal from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.
About GPAINNOVA
GPAINNOVA is a technology group born in 2013 in Barcelona, with subsidiaries in Sunrise (Florida, USA), Hong Kong and Shenzhen (Mainland China) and specializing in surface metal finishing machinery with its brands DLyte and MURUA; naval robotics with GPASEABOTS, medical devices with GPAMEDICAL, and high-performance power electronics with POWER INNOTECH. GPAINNOVA has a team of more than 200 professionals on staff and more than 40 engineers, 55 distributors, more than 600 worldwide clients, allowing for a turnover of €23.2 million in 2021 (47% more than the previous year). GPAINNOVA was selected by The Financial Times among the 1,000 Europe's Fastest Growing Companies in 2020, 2021 and 2022. It is algo among the 4 Europe’s fastest-growing companies in the industrial goods sector, being the first one in Spain.
For further information:
GPASEABOTS
C/ Maracaibo, 1, sheds 2-6. 08030 Barcelona
Telephone: (+34) 931 256 536