Seville, 1 June 2007. The Focus-Abengoa Foundation organised the first vocational training course for administrative secretaries for handicapped people, in collaboration with the regional ministry of employment of the government of Andalusia and the Safa Foundation. The closing event, at which the relevant diplomas were presented to students that satisfactorily graduated from the course, took place today June 1 at the headquarters of the Focus-Abengoa Foundation (Hospital de los Venerables). Antonio Fernández, employment minister of the regional government of Andalusia; Juan Luis Veza Iglesias, Vice-chancellor of the Safa Foundation; and the Co-chairman of the Focus-Abengoa Foundation and Chairman of Abengoa, Javier Benjumea Llorente, officiated over the event.

The primary objective of the course was to attract and train people who suffer from some type of handicap in order to provide them with employment opportunities in the different areas in which Abengoa operates. Abengoa has taken on a commitment to employ at least 60% of the students that participated in the course for a period of six months. The course comprised 310 study hours and 24 days of paid job experience.

Concern for academic, special and physical education and for the social insertion of handicapped people has been a constant theme in Abengoa’s development, a company that has always been driven to helping underprivileged groups. Abengoa is currently working intensively in underprivileged areas with high levels of poverty such as Argentina and Peru, where it has established admirable educational centres that have drinking water, electricity, kitchens, dining rooms, gymnasiums, healthcare support, food, etc. Furthermore, in order to provide professional training and to improve the conditions of handicapped groups, Abengoa – or more specifically the integral Human Resources Department – has designed a specific training program for this social group which is an initiative that has been implemented following approval of the extension of the Foundation’s objectives in 2006.

The Focus-Abengoa Foundation was started in 1982 as a result of the cultural work begun in 1972 by Abengoa with the publication of the works Temas Sevillanos (Themes of Seville) and Iconografía de Sevilla (Iconography of Seville). A collection of documents, books and recordings on the Kingdom of Seville and Sevillian authors was created at the same time. This initial cultural work showed Abengoa’s directors the importance to the company, beyond its technology based work, of its involvement in cultural activities that would directly benefit society, and from which the Cultural Fund Foundation of Seville was created.

For more information.

Abengoa Communications Department:

Patricia Malo de Molina
Tel. 630 05 08 24
E-mail: comunicacion@abengoa.com

Sebastián García.
Tel. 619 074 247
E-mail: director@sebastiangarciaconsultores.com

Adrián Maesso.
Tel. 605 116 392
E-mail: adrian.maesso@ sebastiangarciaconsultores.com