Project assistance completion report : training for private sector development -- cooperative agreement no. 515-0212.00 and 515-0212.01 with the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE), September 28, 1984 to September 30, 1994

Results exceeded expectations. The project included four components: long-term academic preparation for university professors and financial sector analysts; short-term training and observational visits in the U.S. for company owners and business managers; U.S. technical training for plant supervisors and vocational instructors; and seminars and workshops in Costa Rica for technicians and mid-upper level managers. Of 28 students selected for long-term degrees, 27 graduated and returned to Costa Rica. Over 1,000 participants took part in training activities and international fairs in the United States, which were deemed very successful in stimulating interest in nontraditional exports and providing guidance to companies making the move; the business sector covered 30% of these direct training costs. The U.S. technical training program exceeded targets by providing 2-3 month U.S. training to 30 rather than 12 participants from the private sector. Finally, the project provided in-country training by U.S. and Latin American professors and exporters to over 30,000 participants, in addition to establishing the physical infrastructure and human resources necessary to do so. This last component was initially heavily subsidized by USAID, but from 1991-94 CINDE increased training fees to partially defray costs. CINDE has developed the institutional capacity to investigate private sector training needs and provide the training activities on a competitive basis with other training institutions. The project stimulated participation from all sizes of companies and all economic sectors. It worked with more than 8,200 Costa Rican companies, and it appears that these companies continue to seek additional training with CINDE. The project enjoyed a good reputation and the funds were spent almost in their entirety.