Vocational Training

Challenge:

Over 100 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean live on less than $90 a month. An estimated 500,000 people emigrate illegally into the United States each year, often because they are unable to find jobs at home. They do not have the necessary skills or knowledge to find work in their home countries, even though many large corporations are in need of skilled laborers.

Goal:

Fe y Alegría seeks to connect the willing but unskilled workers with the market demand by providing the required skills and knowledge. They prepare their students for a productive and purposeful life contributing to the sustainable development of their countries and communities. The goal is to reach a demonstrable increase in employment and in other means of gaining livelihoods in marginalized communities reached by these programs.

Five-Year Development Plan:

Vocational training was developed in Fe y Alegría's five-year plan with a view to seriously fight poverty. The organization laid out specific goals and strategies to guide its work over the next five years. They specified that vocational training programs should be adapted to the market demands of each country and should have a cross-sector approach so that students graduated from the programs prepared to take on and excel in existing jobs.

The following projects are examples of Fe y Alegría's efforts to improve and expand its vocational training programs. These projects, and many others, need financial support to be implemented.

• Improving Access to Vocational Training in El Salvador
• Teacher Training and Technical Skills Program in Panama
• Long-Distance Education in Six Countries