ANIMA TEC

ANIMA is a free educational institution that offers technical training for Upper Secondary School students. It has a private management system and it is aimed at young people who live in a situation of social vulnerability. The training covers two fields: Administration and Information and Communication Technologies (TIC) with an educational modality groundbreaking in Uruguay, inspired by the German Dual System, which combines education with work. ANIMA arises in response to a global problem, but it certainly affects mostly underdeveloped countries with high poverty rates: school dropout in young people and the consequent lack of employment. Our main objectives are educational continuity a... read more ANIMA is a free educational institution that offers technical training for Upper Secondary School students. It has a private management system and it is aimed at young people who live in a situation of social vulnerability. The training covers two fields: Administration and Information and Communication Technologies (TIC) with an educational modality groundbreaking in Uruguay, inspired by the German Dual System, which combines education with work. ANIMA arises in response to a global problem, but it certainly affects mostly underdeveloped countries with high poverty rates: school dropout in young people and the consequent lack of employment. Our main objectives are educational continuity and quality job placement for youth. The proposal of on the job training programme of ANIMA seeks to build a bridge and encourage dialogue between education and companies. When was the last time companies approached educational institutions to discuss how their future employees are trained? And when was the last time that the educational institutions consulted with the companies that are needed or missing in the market? In Uruguay, technical education seeks to bridge this gap, the proposal of ANIMA with its modality, add value as it benefits not only young people living in vulnerable situations but also companies that are part of the training process of their future employees, visualizing this as a human resources policy. Such training modality is an educational model of great value since it enables the integration of the company in young people's learning process, this builds a bond throughout the process that adds a didactical value to the work done in class; it is a resource of great demand both for students and teachers, which establishes a stronger commitment to their learning processes. Thus, students complete their Upper secondary education, the last compulsory educational cycle in Uruguay, with two years of work experience in occupational areas. As a result, their quality of life can be considerably better, and they can have more and better opportunities of employability. ANIMA is actually a big influence for public policies and achieve greater coverage due to we are a "benchmark" in our country and also in the region. We are invited to participate in talks, national and international events and workshops to narrate our experience. Also, the media has contacted us in several occasions as "leaders" of on the job training experience in our country. The proposal of ANIMA has directly benefited 282 young people from a vulnerable context since 2016. In 2018, the first generation included 75 graduates. Currently, in 2020, we have 151 Upper secondary school students in 4th, 5th and 6th Form. Training practices in the different companies start in 5th Form; they consist of 12 hours per week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2 pm to 6 pm. By 2020, we have create 175 training practices in more than 70 Training Companies. This year the third generation will graduate from ANIMA. The strategic goal ANIMA has set for the next years is to consolidate its on on the job training experience (Dual Education System proposal), in order to prepare for a stage of growth, as well as the scheme's expansion both in public and private spheres.