106 Youth Certified for Job Placement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2012-04-30
USAID Strategic Development Office: (503) 2501-3471
U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section: (503) 2501-2471
www.usaid.gov/sv

The Director of the USAID Office of Economic Growth, Michelle Jennings, awards a diploma to a participant in the “Jóvenes Comprometidos – Yo hago la diferencia” (“Committed Youth – I Make the Difference”) iniciative. Photo by Karen Azucena, USAID.

SAN SALVADOR– The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), together with representatives of the Social Investment Fund for Local Development (FISDL), the Salvadoran Professional Training Institute (INSAFORP), Pollo Campero, Pizza Hut, and Megaboutique, awarded certificates to 106 youth who had participated in training courses to improve their professional profile and be hired in a variety of businesses.

As part of the Partnership for Growth initiative that the governments of El Salvador and the United States signed in November of 2011, the USAID Improving Access to Employment Program is strengthening human capital by securing new and improved sources of employment, in order to improve the quality of life of Salvadorans.

As part of the “Jóvenes Comprometidos – Yo hago la diferencia” (“Committed Youth – I Make the Difference”) initiative, the USAID program has established strategic alliances with a wide range of business and institutions that have jobs to offer, and has provided training to young high-school graduates living in low-income areas, so that they can get their first jobs. The program has graduated a total of 4,242 people in the country so that they can opt for such jobs as restaurant customer service representatives, sales representatives, cashiers, and work in surveys and data entry.

The youth participants were selected thanks to a close inter-institutional effort coordinated by USAID and institutions from diverse sectors, such as the Ministry of Work and Social Welfare, the Mayor’s Office of San Salvador, Empresarios Juveniles, the El Salvador del Mundo Foundation (FUSALMO), Fe y Alegría, the USAID/CRS Youth Builders Program, Ruta Jóven, the Ricaldone Institute, and Santa Maria High School. Thanks to this inter-institutional work, youth were identified for participation in employment counseling programs and later in training.

Of the 106 youth graduates, 72 were trained in Customer Service for Restaurants and have learned the basic skills necessary to opt for immediate employment in the restaurant industry; 15 youth from the Lourdes area were trained in sales and have been contracted by Megaboutique, and 19 are former participants in the Temporary Income Support Program (PATI) from the municipalities of La Libertad, San Pedro Perulapía, San Pedro Masahuat, Santiago Texacuangos, Santiago Nonualco, Verapaz, San Luis la Herradura, Guadalupe, and San Pedro Perulapán. These 19 youth were incorporated into the program by FISDL and received training in survey work and data entry.

The graduation ceremony was presided over by the Director of the USAID Office of Economic Development, Michelle Jennings; President of the FISDL, Carolina Ávalos; the Vice-president of INSAFORP, Ricardo Martínez; Head of Recruitment and Selection of PC Servicios S.A. de C.V., Patricia Rivas; the Director of Recruitment of the Franquicias Americanas Corporation, Pizza Hut, Lorena de Rivas, and the representative of Grupo Mega, Mayra Beltran.