FE Y ALEGRIA OPG - - EXPANDED VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN THE PUEBLOS JOVENES OF PERU

Under this project, FYA will establish a Job Opportunities Office (JOO) to provide administrative services to present and former trainees. JOO will establish contacts with private sector enterprises and government organizations to locate employment for FYA program graduates; collect and disseminate information regarding funding opportunities for students who want to establish a small business; keep records of program graduates and their skills; and survey program graduates concerning their current employment, application of program-taught skills, and well-being in comparison to those lacking similar training. JOO also will survey urban slum (pueblos jovenes) dwellers to ascertain their perceived training needs and, based on these survey results, recommend changes in program training emphasis according to prospective employment trends. FYA and local community organizations will join forces in a self-help effort to construct or modify 42 workshops at 20 schools located in the urban slums of Lima, Cuzco, Puno, Chimbote, Cajamarca, and Piura. Thirty of these workshops will be located in schools already benefitting from A.I.D. funding. By the end of the project, the FYA program will expand the number of training areas from four to nine skills. Although the course content will be flexible and adjusted according to JOO recommendations, it will include carpentry, sewing, typing, electricity, metalworking, ceramics, agriculture, and home economics/nutrition. Carpentry workshops will be upgraded by the provision of additional woodworking equipment. By the end of the project, it is expected that FYA also will increase the number of youth trainees of both sexes from 6,000 to 25,000 and increase the number of adults trained to 2,000 per year. Approximately 80 instructors will receive on-going training during the project. In-service seminars will be held to expand the expertise of FYA"s teachers and develop a standard usage of curriculum material and guides.