In order to strengthen the actions of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), promote equal rights and equal opportunities for social and labor market insertion of young people, the European Union, together with AVSI in Mexico and COPARMEX Jalisco, officially launched the projects "Integral model of training and accompaniment for labor market insertion of young people with school dropouts in the Renewable Energy value chain" and "CREEA: Education in action for social cohesion and labor market insertion of young people in Mexico".
Both projects were presented on November 18th in a virtual event transmitted through the European Union's Facebook in Mexico with the participation of Jean-Pierre Bou, Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of the European Union Delegation in Mexico; Rossana Stanchi, country representative of AVSI in Mexico; Paolo Romanacci, director of Mexico of ENEL Green Power; Carlos Villaseñor Franco, president of COPARMEX Jalisco; Guillermo Palos Aguayo, manager of international projects of COPARMEX Jalisco and Silvia Novoa Fernández, general director of Junior Achievement Mexico.
With a contribution from the European Union of 24 million pesos (1,140,386.74 euros), the "Integral Model of Training and Accompaniment" will be implemented during 4 years by AVSI in Mexico in alliance with Junior Achievement Mexico.
The project will promote the inclusion and permanence of 800 young people in the labor market through the implementation of a Training nd Accompaniment Model for labor market insertion: in the states of Oaxaca and Jalisco, AVSI will work with 50 local CSOs, 10 academic institutions, 100 educators, 80 local authorities and 40 companies to diagnose their needs and job requirements in order to design technical training tailored to their needs and to create a job bank that connects them with young people.
On the other hand, "CREEA: Education in action for social cohesion and labor insertion of young people in Mexico", has a contribution from the European Union of 24 million pesos (1140386.74 euros) and will be implemented during five years by COPARMEX Jalisco as project coordinator, while local CSOs Jalisco Como Vamos and Sequa gGmbH will participate as co-beneficiaries.
This project aims to contribute to the reduction of poverty and inequality of young people in Mexico. It will benefit 5,000 vulnerable youth through training that will help increase their employability and social and labor insertion.
According to data from the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (CONEVAL), 41.9% of Mexicans lived in poverty in 2018. According to statistics from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 2.2 million adolescents dropped out of school due to lack of economic resources and 14.4% of them had to look for a job to help their family. Poverty and educational backwardness have serious consequences for young people from vulnerable groups, since they limit their skills and tools to enter the labor market. According to the INEGI, in 2018, there were 30.7 million young people (from 15 to 29 years old) in Mexico. Of these, only 34.2% of men and 33% of women attended school and 67.3% of young men and 40.5% of young women were part of the Economically Active Population (PEA).
The COVID-19 crisis will further accentuate these figures. For this reason, both projects contemplate actions that allow young people to have equal educational and work opportunities to enjoy the same access to the labor market.
Both projects seek to encourage collaboration between the business sector and the youth sector through vocational training that allows young people to enter in dignified, fair and safe conditions.