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Vocational Education and Training in El Salvador

Situation – El Salvador is one of the poorest countries in Latin America . From 1980 to 1991 a ruinous civil war raged, resulting in thousands of deaths and causing destruction running into the billions. Social problems have continued to blight the country right up to the present day. There is an enormous gulf between rich and poor. Lack of prospects have resulted in many young people from the excluded classes sliding down the slippery slope into criminality. The basic vocational education on offer has serious limitations. Just a small minority of those who are interested have access to it. Particularly in the rural areas, there are just no opportunities. In addition, the curriculum is not sufficiently oriented towards the labour market. Less than one third of the graduates find employment after completing their training.

 

Project – The goal is to ensure that by 2009, 3,500 youths and young adults will have been given opportunities for career-oriented vocational training that enables them to make the step up into gainful employment. In order to take the varying levels into account, the vocational training takes place in modules. The courses last from three to six months and will be offered in the following vocational areas: bricklayer, bricklayer foreman, sewing machine mechanic, refrigeration and air conditioning technician, welder, cook. The principal target groups are the unemployed, as well as socially disadvantaged women and men, primarily from the rural districts, who, because they lack vocational qualifications, have very limited opportunities for gainful employment. Moreover, young men without any career prospects are at risk of being recruited by criminal gangs. It is exactly this that the project aims to pre-empt. The courses are being run by local partners. Swisscontact is providing them with technical and organizational support, as well as support in quality control. SMEs providing additional positions for young people are receiving technical support in training matters. As a result, the national vocational education system has been significantly strengthened. The opportunities for young people in the labour market have been increasing. The project thus provides a blueprint for the reduction of poverty and criminality, two long-term consequences of El Salvador ’s civil war.

Yenci García Ponce (20), Sonsonate

«I am a single mother with a young daughter. I used to be just a housewife. I had to live on my mother's and my grandmother's expenses. Thanks to the Swisscontact project I was able to take a course in milk processing. Along with two other women, I am now producing milk products, which we sell in and around Sonsonate. This has allowed me to contribute to the family income.»

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Main partner of this project
Nestlé
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC
 
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15 June 2010
Swisscontact South Africa: Annual Report 2009

SME-promotion, local economic development, financial literacy and improved energy efficiency. All this and more makes up the program of Swisscontact South Africa and is presented in its Annual Report 2009.

14 June 2010
Swisscontact Annual Report
The Annual Report 2009 focuses on partnership: reduction of poverty as a common project of the local communities and the Swisscontact staff in the field.

20. August 2009
50th anniversary celebration of Swisscontact

Federal Counselor Ms Leuthard, Nestlé chairman Mr Brabeck together with 700 guests, have been celebrating 50 years of Swisscontact in Zurich.

» | Gallery
June 2009
Annual Report 2008

Swisscontact looks back at a successfull year 2008. The annual report is available in English, Spanish and French.

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