Job orientation, functional counselling, training, and placement of youth from the masses of poor families for immediate gainful employment

The project, a follow-on to past A.I.D. support, will redirect the school"s program toward industrial and away from artisanal training and will be implemented by the school, with technical assistance and staff training provided by outside experts. By project end, the school will train 862 students annually, more than doubling its enrollment. First-year (seventh-grade) students will receive vocational guidance and hands-on experience in five core occupational areas (i.e., the machine and metal, electrical/electronic, construction, automotive, and graphic arts trades). Second-year students will be trained at industrial-type work stations in one of the five core areas. In the third year, students will participate in a work experience program, for which they will receive modest wages. Moreover, 24 youths annually will receive an additional year of work experience in graphic arts and machine and metal trades, and at least 18 youths annually will be taught small business management and will later be helped to set up businesses. Job placement services will be provided annually to an expected 184 graduates, 160 work experience students, 520 students working part-time after school, and at least 50% of the dropouts. To effect these changes, a school associate director with overall responsibility for implementing the new program, new departmental heads for the first and second year programs, and approximately 40 new teachers will be hired. The associate director, the new departmental heads, and the heads of the five core training programs will receive leadership training; teachers will receive basic industrial teacher training and later ongoing training to update skills. New curricula and instructional materials, based on analyses of labor market demand in the five core training areas, will be developed by the staff. In addition, the school"s physical plant will be renovated to allow for additional work stations and a modest library; instructional supplies (e.g., audiovisual aids, shop equipment, and library materials and equipment) will be procured; and vocational advisory committees will be established for each of the seven departments.