Reaching the marginalized: EFA global monitoring report, 2010; 2010

001CHAPTER 22Education for All Global Monitoring ReportBox 2.15: Linking skills and employment — Jóvenes programmes in Latin AmericaExperience from Jóvenes programmes in LatinAmerica provides some important insights intothe conditions for successful youth training.Initiated in Chile in 1990, Jóvenes programmesare now well established across the region. Theyreach out to young people, combining technicaltraining and internship with basic life skillsand other support services. More than 60%of participants come from low-income families.The programmes tend to raise the probabilityof employment and higher wages. In Argentina,Proyecto Joven increased employment and wagesby about 10% compared with a control group.Although implementation and managementstructures vary, evaluations show that successfulprogrammes in Argentina, Chile, Peru andUruguay share some common elements:Strong targeting. Programmes are aimedat youth from low-income families and thosewho have low educational attainment andlimited work experience. In some cases,preference is given to household heads withchildren, in order to combat child poverty.Training is linked with work and wider skills.Most programmes provide training, workexperience, literacy and numeracy courses, anda wide range of auxiliary packages, including jobsearch assistance. The training component isaimed at helping participants attain semi-skilledstatus in trades for which there is demand.Work experience takes place under the auspicesof a company, which assumes a tutoring rolebut is not obliged to pay trainees or guaranteeemployment. Training and work experienceusually last about six months and includebroader life skills such as communication,teamwork and self-esteem.Management and coordination. The stateassumes control of programme design,supervision and full or partial financing,but in most countries, training delivery isdecentralized. The private sector providesa link to the job market. In Chile, theprogramme operates through about1,000 training providers, ranging fromcompanies to non-government organizations.Sources: Betcherman et al. (2004, 2007); Gallart (2008);Godfrey (2007).Box 2.16: Entra 21 — tackling marginalizationUnemployed young people whose education hasbeen disrupted often struggle to break into skilledjobs. The Entra 21 programme is aimed atremoving barriers to entry through innovativeapproaches that give people the skills they needto overcome marginalization.The programme began in 2001 throughcollaboration between the International YouthFoundation and the Inter-American DevelopmentBank, in six Latin American countries: Bolivia,the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Panama,Paraguay and Peru. Courses combine technicaltraining, internship and job placement with lifeskills and job-seeking skills. Employers help withprogramme design and job placement. Anevaluation of the first phase, which covered20,000 people, found major benefits:Among those who registered for Entra 21,69% were neither studying nor employed;after completion the figure was 24%.The share of graduates from the programmein formal education was 42% — double theshare at the time of entry to the course.Another 21% were working and studying.While most of the jobs documented werein the formal sector (between 75% and 90%,depending on the country), there were severalexamples of youth-led microenterprisedevelopment in the informal sector, especiallyin El Salvador and Peru.The second phase of the programme includesmeasures aimed at strengthening the focuson marginalized youth. It targets 45,000 youngpeople from low-income households and5,000 facing increased risk as a result of internaldisplacement or physical disability.Source: Lasida and Rodriguez (2006).90