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Professional training for young people (Projoven)

The combination of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as  the ETA and IOTA storms, made the 2020 Gross Domestic Product drop by 8.9%, causing the loss of 207 thousand jobs and 573 thousand people going into visible underemployment. This caused 73.6% of the population to live in poverty and 54% in extreme poverty (INE). This situation creates an environment of social risk for young people mainly, who are unable to find a place in the labor market or do not have the skills to develop a business, which in turn encourages the migration to the United States. ProJoven in its phases I and II promoted the training of more than 20 thousand young Hondurans (60% were women); as well as a 50% growth in job acquisition. At the same time, the public and private institutions diversified their offer and actively participated in the professional technical training system. In 2022, it gives way to the third phase aimed mainly at improving the effectiveness of the professional technical training system for job placement.
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Laguna de Caratasca, Honduras
15.3449733
-83.8260884
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Golfo de Fonseca
13.2087977
-87.5791287
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Región Central, Honduras
15.199999
-86.241905
Honduras
Project duration
2018 - 2023
Financed by
  • Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC

The project

The ProJoven programme (2013-2022) focuses on improving access to employment for young men and women between the ages of 18 and 30, who are in conditions of social vulnerability, who generally live in neighbourhoods or rural areas with a high incidence of poverty and have poor public services; in general, they have little schooling, suffer from social or gender discrimination and/or have left the formal education system for various reasons.

The third programme phase focuses on institutionalising the best practices developed in the previous to increase the relevance and sustainability of professional training processes and help achieve the positive development of youth in Honduras.

In 2022, ProJoven launches phase III, which takes advantage of the accumulated experience of technical and vocational training, job placement, and entrepreneurship (lessons learned and tools) from its previous phases to develop a systemic approach. It aims to improve the effectiveness and coverage of the Technical and Vocational Training System for young people in vulnerable situations by means of quality technical training that promotes access to the labour market and the positive development of youth.

The programme supports political dialogue, alignment of VET programmes with productive development policies, creation of relevant information for the continuous improvement of institutions and knowledge generation, as well as the development of evidence and experience-based methodologies and teaching approaches, which are constantly monitored to evaluate their effectiveness.

The programme proposes short-term goals with a focus on labor, social and gender inclusion:

  1. The actors of the professional technical training system adopt, replicate and/or adapt the systematied knowledge the program has acquired in its previous phases.
  2. Public and private institutions and the productive sectors agree on joint strategies to improve the management of the national vocational training system.
Project partners

To achieve the general objective of the programme, ProJoven interacts with the following institutions:

  • Secretary of Labour and Social Security;
  • Secretariat of Economic Development;
  • National Institute for Vocational Training (INFOP);
  • Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (SEDUCA, PRONAGRO and DICTA);
  • National Chamber of Tourism of Honduras (CANATURH)
  • Honduran Chamber of Construction Industry (CHICO)
  • Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Honduras (FEDECAMARAS);
  • Honduran Institute of Tourism
  • Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP);
  • National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH);
  • Technological University of Honduras (UTH);
  • Association of Municipalities of Honduras (AMHON);
  • Advisory Center for the Development of Human Resources (CADERH);
  • National Commission for the Development of Non-Formal Alternative Education (CONEANFO);
  • Other international cooperation projects for the development of the labour force;
  • Business groups with national scope.

Partner institutions at the regional level include:

  • Chambers of Industry and Commerce;
  • Business Development Centers (CDEMIPYME);
  • Regional chapters of the sectorial chambers (construction and tourism);
  • Regional centers of the National Vocational Training Institute;
  • Regional offices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security;
  • The territorial councils in the Mosquitia;
  • The Community Ethnic Development Organization (ODECO), of Afro-descendants;
  • Local governments and associations;
  • Sectorial organisations: value chain committees and regional producer associations;
  • Individual companies; and projects of economic development, rural development or that are focused on specific value chains.

Expected results

  • Three institutional actors with a national scope and three regional institutions (three regions) apply good practices in at least one of the key issues promoted by ProJoven.
  • Two institutional actors within a sector participate in capacity-building events and apply good practices in at least one of the key issues promoted by ProJoven.
  • A national workshop to coordinate the agenda for youth self-employment through entrepreneurship.
  • Four multi-stakeholder platforms for the exchange of knowledge, political dialogue, and consultation on the management of VET at the sectoral and regional levels; at the national level, promoted jointly with the cooperating partners.
  • A consensual road map for the institutional improvement of the Technical and Vocational Training System at the level of each region and a sector; at the national level, promoted jointly with the cooperating partners.

Project links

News

View all news from Projoven
Honduras
Entrepreneurial ecosystems, Continuing Vocational Education and Training
01.08.2022
Sustainable entrepreneurship for communities of African descent
The Garífuna people are one of the largest ethnic minorities in Honduras, descending from the African-Carib populations from the Caribbean island of St Vincent. Unemployment rates are high among the Garífuna, most of whom live on the Atlantic coast. Since 2020, Swisscontact has been working with the Ethnic Community Development Organisation (ODECO) to promote entrepreneurship as a viable economic endeavour for this community.
Learn more
Honduras
Continuing Vocational Education and Training, Entrepreneurial ecosystems, Labour market insertion
09.05.2022
Vocational training ensures quality products in rural areas
Southern Honduras is hit hard by the effects of climate change, jeopardising secure food sources, people's financial stability and thus their livelihoods. In this context, vocational training opens up opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship; but it also allows farmers to reach quality standards that increase income. 
Learn more
Honduras
Labour market insertion
17.04.2022
A tool that measures the impact of vocational training on youth employment
Swisscontact in Honduras has launched SISPROJOVEN, a monitoring and evaluation software developed by the ProJoven project to measure the impact of vocational training on job placements of young people.
Learn more