By Meritrina Baute | Meritrina Baute
We have had a challenging year at the end of the year. Circumstances remain difficult: increased violent deaths, energy crisis (Ecuador is going through the worst drought in 61 years), economic recession and stagnant employment. Still, we persevere, for, with and as our young people.
With the Vocational Guidance and Professional Training Program we have accompanied more than 200 young people. Our participants - in adversity - are already thinking about a life project: the young people affirm that, thanks to our program, they have discovered their predominant talents and that our activities are concrete initiatives to prepare them for the future.
On the other hand, we already have 14 “Kitchen Assistants” and 11 “Computer and Network Maintenance and Repair Assistants”! They all completed their internships at major restaurants, dealerships or at the university and successfully passed their tests. The Mechanics graduation had to be postponed because, in September, the city was declared in a “state of emergency” due to forest fires.
A very special moment was the Gastronomy students' final practical exam where they tested their creativity and technique by preparing a complete menu: aspects such as expense management (each team was assigned a budget), teamwork, presentation, seasoning were evaluated; and some went beyond what was planned, defending the concepts of their proposals and even using their own resources to guarantee the quality of their service. Many passionately expressed having discovered and valued ingredients/dishes from both their own and other cultures, taking the risk of fusing, replicating and versioning recipes from their masters; others stood out for taking care of every last detail.
To date, 31% of our graduates have obtained jobs in their area of training and 16% have continued studying, but all of them will continue to receive follow-up until December to guide them and verify their labor market insertion. Nathaly (23 years old), a Gastronomy graduate, is already on the payroll of the prestigious “Casa Gangotena”: “What I take away most from this training is the personal gratification for what I have learned, for the skills that one experiences that one has and for all those from whom one learns, I have realized that the people who accompany you are the ones who, in the end, build part of the path with you. I want to thank them for teaching me so patiently. One always has to risk more, I have proven myself and now I know how far I can go. I would like to tell other young people to lose their fear, one can reach unimaginable paths that can open many doors. But you have to take the first step, you have the capacity to do it if you take the risk”.
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