Generation Ni/Ni: Latin America’s Lost Youth JOSÉ MANUEL SALAZAR-XIRINACHS
ing programs to facilitate school-to-work transitions. One comprehensive
training program is Jóvenes en Ac-ción, implemented in Colombia. A
2008 World Bank study confirmed
the programs’ positive effect on employability and earnings, particularly
among young women. A separate International Youth Foundation initiative, Entra 21, has shown similarly
promising results. Since it was first
launched in 2001, more than 60,000
disadvantaged youth have enrolled in
the program in 18 countries; of those,
88 percent have completed training,
which includes classroom instruction and internships.
According to a 2008 study of the
region’s Jóvenes programs, per-stu-dent costs averaged $700 to $2,000
per participant. However, researchers found measurable evidence that
young adults in these programs were
more employable and program graduates earned more
than their counterparts in control groups. Proyecto Jo-ven in Argentina, for example, produced a 10-percent
increase in both employability and monthly wages for
women who completed the program. Chile’s Jóvenes
program produced even better results: women in the
program were, on average, 21 percent more employable than the general youth population and monthly
salaries among graduates were, on average, a full 26
percent higher.
How can I help you?: Call centers in Manizales, Colombia, are employing
thousands of young workers in customer service contracts for companies across
the hemisphere.
Address Skills Gaps
In order for investments in education and skills de- velopment to lead to a successful transition into em- ployment, the curricula of educational and vocational
training institutions must be in tune with labor market
needs. And attention should be paid not only to technical skills but also to people skills.
Build Hard Skills
Partnerships between education and training in- stitutions and the private sector help ensure that school curricula match the skills demanded in
the labor market. One of the first models to address
this issue in the region are the Jóvenes programs, introduced in a number of countries in the early 1990s as
part of an IDB initiative designed to foster youth employment programs.
Juventud y Empleo in the Dominican Republic addresses the labor market demand and increases young
workers’ chances of getting a job by identifying and
training disadvantaged youth in trades relevant to the
productive sector. 13 Procajoven in Panama and Projoven
in Peru are two other programs that strive to incorporate demand-driven training curricula.
Internships, apprenticeships and on-the-job training
should be built into university and vocational train-
Teach Soft Skills
It is also important to ensure that young people are trained in nontechnical or soft “people” or “life” skills, such as communication, leadership, teamwork, workplace behavior and responsibility, appearance, professionalism, time management, etiquette, etc.
Dominican Republic’s Juventud y Empleo showed a
positive impact of training on life skills, such as leadership, conflict resolution, self-organization, and persistency of effort. 14 Entra 21 also builds life skills into
training curricula, helping socialize young people and
educate them in the virtues of citizenship, community
service and people skills.
Employer organizations have also been proactive in
several countries in improving vocational and soft-skills
GUILLERMO LEGARIA/AFP/GETTY
112 Americas Quarterly SPRING 2012
AMERICASQUARTERLY.ORG
