USAID Bridges to Employment Monthly Report March 2017

Key activities included awareness-raising seminars and policy improvement plans with partner firms. Awareness-raising seminars were held on March 7th and 28th to raise awareness within the private sector about how to accommodate the needs of youth and other vulnerable groups. The seminars focused on inclusive hiring practices, patterns of vulnerability, stereotypes, and the legal framework for employing at-risk youth. A total of 18 representatives from the two seminars signed letters of intent, expressing interest in additional learning opportunities through USAID Bridges to Employment. One of the key topics of interest among the participating companies was participating in sessions with experts or other firms with best practices, with 12 representatives expressing interest. Other topics of interest included participating in a process of change regarding human talent, holding internal awareness-raising sessions for company personnel, and participating in similar awareness sessions. In addition to the awareness-raising seminars, USAID Bridges to Employment also worked with private sector colleagues to develop policy improvement plans with partner firms. On March 27th, the program met with Termoencogibles, a plastics firm, to discuss ways to reform corporate policies to further support the employment of at-risk youth, people with disabilities, and women in production roles. The firm agreed to share a list of its hiring and professional development needs and will collaborate with USAID Bridges to Employment to develop a workplan for implementing changes. The program also continued its efforts to improve the quality of technical training centers. A grant was awarded to improve the quality of technical training centers, with a maximum total of $10 million allocated for the grant. Up to 20 grants are expected to be awarded, and the grant will fund training on software development and six different computer programming languages, as well as the establishment of fully-equipped Software Development Centers (SDCs) that will serve as practice laboratories where youth and businesses can work on real company projects. Furthermore, the program held a career fair at the CasaTIC career fair organized by the Cámara Salvadoreña de Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación (CasaTIC) on March 25th. The event included a networking session with 14 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies and 17 training centers, as well as an awareness-raising session on social inclusion of vulnerable youth. A total of 54 people participated in the session, and six CasaTIC member companies signed letters of intent, expressing interest in creating or improving inclusive hiring policies within their organizations. The program also attended the Comparative and International Education Society Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, where Leesa Kaplan, the Chief of Party, and Ana Romilda Escamilla, the Youth and Workforce Development Specialist, made presentations on soft skills development for youth in challenging environments and empowering El Salvador's marginalized youth. Additionally, the program attended the USAID Lessons on Youth Workforce Development Workshop in Guatemala City, where staff from USAID-funded workforce development projects in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador shared information and best practices. Overall, the USAID Bridges to Employment program continued its efforts to improve the enabling environment for workforce development in El Salvador in March 2017, with a focus on awareness-raising seminars, policy improvement plans, and improving the quality of technical training centers.