Promoting Non-formal Vocational Training

Project description

Title: Promoting Non-formal Vocational Training
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Honduras
Lead executing agency: Secretaría Técnica de Planificación y Cooperación Técnica (SEPLAN)
Overall term: 2013 to 2016

Context

The Honduran economy has shown few signs of recovery since the global economic crisis in 2008 and the coup d’état in 2009. In addition, increasing levels of criminality and the poor security situation are placing the country’s economic development and social network in jeopardy. A major problem is the high level of unemployment and underemployment among young people. Reducing youth unemployment is a core issue for the government. At the same time, companies often have difficulty finding qualified staff, since graduates from the vocational training institutions do not, for the most part, have the required skills. The non-formal vocational training system is not oriented towards existing needs and thus presents a major obstacle to economic growth and the improvement of the employment situation for young people. The central problem is that vocational training fulfils neither the needs of the economy nor those of the target group.

Objective

Selected non-formal vocational training institutions offer further education options tailored to existing needs.

Approach

The project focuses on providing professional advice and qualifications for governmental and private actors in designing, implementing and evaluating labour-market oriented, modular training courses in the non-formal vocational training system. The main priorities are expanding and intensifying the dialogue and enabling collaboration between employers, regulatory authorities and executing agencies. Together they will manage the labour-market oriented qualifications so that, on completion of their vocational training, young people are more employable and companies are more competitive.

The target group consists of male and female trainees in the non-formal vocational qualification system, together with job seekers or underemployed young people of both genders who belong to poor or disadvantaged population groups.