The FINANCIAL — For the last four years Accenture and Fundación Entreculturas have been partnering on a program that has equipped 95,000 disadvantaged youth across 10 Latin American countries with market-relevant skills to help them secure jobs.
To date, the initiative has provided technical and professional training to young people in Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela, with 19,000 of them having secured employment, according to Accenture.
Accenture has invested a total of US$2 million and nearly 50,000 hours of pro bono services to enhance Entreculturas’ capabilities, including an e-learning offering, developed under the successful initiative at Accenture in Spain titled Together for the employment of the most vulnerable, and a job placement service. These additional, operational capabilities complement the classroom-based curriculum with accessible, virtual learning opportunities. The program’s market-oriented focus provides a new talent pipeline that fills urgent business needs and the students benefit from the focus and expertise of a job placement service.
The technical training program has improved job prospects for many young Latin Americans. “I went to the technical center to learn and get my computer maintenance and repair certificate,” said Fátima Monroy, a student at the Soyapango Vocational Training Center in El Salvador. “The center trained me and helped me find the job I needed to support my family. Not only has my family’s situation improved, but my attitude has changed for the better, along with my self-confidence.”
The collaboration with Entreculturas is part of Accenture’s corporate citizenship initiative, Skills to Succeed, which is equipping more than 3 million people around the world with the skills to get a job or build a business.
“Our support to Fundación Entreculturas is providing significant professional opportunities for thousands of disadvantaged young people in Latin America,” said Ana Millán, director of the Accenture Foundation in Spain. “Together we’re making a measurable and sustainable difference in the economic vitality and resilience of individuals, families and communities.”
According to Javier Urrecha, Entreculturas project manager, “Working together has enabled us to improve the training of young people, allowing them a better approach to employment and also establishing a groundwork that will benefit future generations.”
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