Once upon a time, there was a country where young people had no opportunities.
It was 1986, and in Catalonia many young people were looking for work, but work had a bad habit of hiding. They sent out CVs, knocked on doors… but found them all closed. And if one did open, the answer was always no!
A group of young people who had experienced that situation firsthand found the solution in an unexpected place: a wedding! Amid the guests, laughter and a few ties already askew, they reached a conclusion: If the jobs we’re looking for don’t exist, we’ll have to create them ourselves!
And so they coined a new word: Self-employment, which marked the beginning of CP’AC’s adventure. In a small space provided by Escola Pia, they devoted countless volunteer hours to finding ways for young people to create their own jobs, guided by the motto: “Invest in yourself.”
And the young people began to arrive. Some knew how to fix an engine but had no idea how to get a business started. Others were wonderful cooks but kept getting burned by the numbers. Those with brilliant ideas lacked the money to bring them to life. But they all needed the same thing: someone who believed in them.
And so they began supporting young people as they launched their self-employment ventures.
The years went by and the organisation grew, hiring its first young employees and opening offices across Catalonia, until CP’AC became a foundation.
As they encountered new obstacles, they kept coming up with new solutions.
When funding was out of reach, they came up with social microloans and business angels.
When the economic crisis forced businesses to close, they came up with Reempresa and mentoring.
When the pandemic brought the shutters down, they put together an army of volunteers to raise them again.
Perhaps that is why Autoocupació’s story is best told through people rather than dates.
Through someone who walked in with an idea on a piece of paper and, months later, held the keys to their own premises.
Through someone who signed an employment contract again after many years.
Through someone who breathed new life into a business that was about to close.
Over these forty years, more than 150,000 people have received support from Autoocupació. More than 40,000 people have found the jobs they wanted. More than 10,000 businesses have been created, strengthened and/or saved. All thanks to more than 500 professionals, over 1,000 volunteers and more than 200 partner institutions.
But the numbers cannot explain how it feels to open the door to your business for the first time. Or when someone backs your project just when it seemed no one would. Or that moment when you stop thinking “I don’t know if I can” and start thinking “Why not?”
Perhaps that is what began in 1986: a way of looking at people and asking, What if they could? What if we supported them? What if we believed in them?
Forty years later, everything has changed. But the question remains the same. And the story is written anew every time someone decides to learn, start a business, keep going or try again. Every time they stop asking what is expected of them and start deciding who they want to be.
Until one day, they look at the path ahead and say: I am who I want to be!
