Komatsu Cummins spearheads an effort to help offenders forge a path forward

Yerko Andres Arce Alvial was born and raised in a community on the outskirts of Santiago where high unemployment, heavy drug use and a poor educational system shaped his world view. Growing up, criminal behavior seemed like normal behavior.
"I believed that by living in this place, things had to be this way."
So, Arce became caught up in the only way of life he knew, and by age 16 was sentenced to his first confinement in a juvenile detention center.

It’s an increasingly common story in Chile, where a relatively recent influx of drug trafficking has created new challenges for communities nationwide. Young offenders who are incarcerated often lack the resources and support systems they need when re-entering the community, and often return. Studies show that almost 35% of young offenders are back in the system after a year, and 46.4% are back in two years, according to the most recent data available.

Arce might have been among those statistics, but wasn’t. A program called Fundación Reinventarse helped him defy the odds.

Fundación Reinventarse, a nonprofit arm of Komatsu Cummins Chile, helps people who have broken the law find a path to employment and a new life. To do this, it mobilizes an array of training programs and support services throughout the country. Since its founding in 2011 through 2024, the foundation — whose name translates roughly into “the foundation for reinventing oneself” — has assisted more than 3,500 people in their search for a fresh start, with more participants each year.

“At Komatsu Cummins Chile we have stated, with complete conviction, that our main capital is our people and the mosaic of skills and knowledge that they bring,” said Darko Louit, Komatsu Cummins CEO and President of the foundation’s board. “Fundación Reinventarse shares this vision.”
To Arce, who was serving a 24-month sentence when he heard about the foundation, it offered “something that seemed unthinkable in my childhood and adolescence” — a new way to envision his future.

The foundation was conducting a course in certified basic mechanics inside Arce’s detention center, and he decided to enroll. There, he learned the fundamentals of electrical components, hydraulics and safety protocols while being coached in life skills and counseled about life choices. For a young man whose parents were often absent and who often witnessed criminal behavior, it was a transformative experience. “It allowed me to recognize my skills and my strengths, and work on weaknesses so that they would not lead to the possibility of reoffending."

Soft skills and self-knowledge are as important as technical skills when helping someone find a sustainable alternative to criminal activity, say foundation staff. Whether adolescents or adults, many have a history of social isolation and marginalization, physical or emotional abuse, poor education, or mental health challenges. Criminal activity might have begun at an early age.

“It can be a challenge establishing a connection, understanding their life stories and balancing the authority of my role with empathy and the necessary support,” said Kathya Domínguez, a Technical Coordinator and Labor Advisor who works with participants inside correctional facilities. “It is essential to help them recognize that, although they made mistakes, they can change.”

Though the foundation is working to change attitudes through research and advocacy, offenders also face a social stigma that questions their worth. “Being part of the Fundación Reinventarse team means challenging the social context in which we operate daily,” said Rocío Castro, also a Technical Coordinator and Labor Advisor. “It means believing in opportunities, in changes, believing in our young people.”

Arce put it this way: “Another way in which Reinventarse generates a change in people is simply by considering each person as a human being.”

Entire communities have a stake in the Fundación Reinventarse’s mission as it strives to redirect individuals from a cycle of incarceration into jobs that need to be filled, families that need to be fed and dreams that need to be realized.

Like most economies worldwide, Chile is facing a labor shortage. According to the Mining Skills Council of Chile, labor demand in mining will increase to 34,000 workforce entrants in 2032. Of these, 75% are needed in specialties such as mechanical maintenance, mobile equipment operator, physical equipment operator and maintenance professional.

The foundation designs its trainings with those needs in mind while offering variety. It currently operates 10 different programs: seven inside juvenile and women's facilities, one for juveniles with work-release permission and two nationwide training and job placement programs. Juvenile programs focus on gastronomy, mechanics, hairdressing, motor mechanics and remanufacturing. The women’s program focuses on remanufacturing and customer service, including employment opportunities at a call center.

Carrying out the foundation’s mission requires an ambitious network of training and support programs across the country. It works in close partnership with the National Service for Minors (SENAME), which operates juvenile detention facilities, and the Chilean Gendarmerie, which operates adult facilities.

Pía Ruíz de Gamboa González, Lieutenant Colonel at the adult women’s facility, called the foundation’s work “highly valued by the establishment's leadership.” Both there and at juvenile facilities, foundation staff must adapt to the security protocols and unique dynamics of each facility. “There is a very good relationship with Reinventarse Foundation, with good communication and coordination.”

What happens inside these facilities is only part of the work.

The foundation takes an active role supporting research and advocating for public policies that will help reintegration efforts. “Reinventarse Foundation is today a leading entity in Chile in terms of social and labor reintegration, and an extraordinary contribution from a public policy perspective,” said Louit.

When participants leave incarceration and re-join their communities, a collaborative alliance of private and public entities is ready to help. The alliance assists with education, parenting skills, job-readiness skills, professional mentoring, career counseling and more.

Given the broad scope of needs, collaboration with these organizations is critical. “To continue advancing in this challenge, we need actors who are increasingly committed to this area of action,” said Louit. “The formation of strategic alliances is and will continue to be fundamental.”

Komatsu Cummins is a key part of that alliance at each step, starting with personnel and continuing through the potential for full-time employment. The foundation’s five board members are all Komatsu Cummins executives. Employees volunteer technical instruction and mentorship. Additional assistance comes in the form of facilities, equipment and a wide variety of support services.

In what might be the most important sign of its commitment, Komatsu Cummins offers 10 internships to Fundación Reinventarse participants each year and, if qualified, are offered full-time jobs. So far, 42 foundation participants have been hired.

In 2023, Arce became one of them.

After being released from detention two months early, Arce stayed in touch with Fundación Reinventarse and its resources. He completed training as an audit accountant and landed an internship in the finance department of Komatsu Cummins Chile in Santiago.

When his internship ended, Arce successfully qualified for a staff position. “And since then, my experience has been extraordinary.” His drive to learn even took a fun new twist in 2024 when he placed second in the company’s Formula One Fantasy League. “I signed up as an inexperienced fan, but with the goal of learning about the sport and entering a whole new world.”

Now 24, Arce credits the foundation's persistent faith in him and continuous support with opening a door to the working world. “The Reinventarse Foundation can generate change in people, as it did with me,” he said. “I don’t know of any other organizations that do this type of work."

Asked where he sees himself five years from now, Arce envisions a place far removed from the surroundings of his youth. He’d love to travel outside Chile, learn a different language, and thrive in his profession.

“They say, ‘dreaming is free.’ With perseverance, the desire to improve, motivation and learning, I see myself as a person in charge of a team or a person who is a leader.”

And, he added, “I would really like to be at Komatsu Cummins.”