Employability and soft skills for vulnerable youth

We have started with the teaching of employability workshops with the youth of the 17 high schools in Puntarenas, Guanacaste, Limón and San José, with which the Foundation works. The workshops are spaces for a lot of learning, sharing experiences and knowledge that help young people in the transition process from the school to the professional world. The workshops are accompanied by an experience within a company, in order to know the reality, the contexts and new employment and study opportunities. On this occasion we made the first tour with the students of the Professional Technical College of Limon, to the Dell company in Costa Rica.

During the visit they received different talks that allowed them to reinforce the topics seen in Employability (the importance of soft skills, networking, CV and job interview) as well as getting to know the operation of the company up close.

Thanks to your support, students have the opportunity to participate in workshops and tours, thus obtaining unique learning opportunities. From the Foundation we will continue with an arduous work to achieve the goal!!

Starting the year, they initiate new plans !! Excited and eager to generate new opportunities, after the good results of last year where the Youth Employability Program was implemented in 18 public high schools located in 6 of the 7 provinces of Costa Rica, impacting a total of 1218 vulnerable youth. Your generosity has allowed us to continue strengthening the program, opening new alternatives of advancement for costarican youth, and supporting our organization in its goal to lead the way in the construction of a more equal and inclusive society with real opportunities for young people in Costa Rica.

This year we are planning our workshops focused on employability, where we will create new dynamics and activities that allow young people to obtain new knowledge and empower themselves for a future work.

In addition, we are developing new partnerships with allied companies in the community, in order to generate new experiences, in which our young people will know how a company works, hoping that it will open new ideas and opportunities in their professional future.

¨Going to University was not something I planned. Today, I can say that I have a different mentality, that I love to learn, that my newly achieved knowledge is reflected in my grades and in my effort, that I am proud to by a college student at ULACIT… furthermore, I love to know that I have people that believe in me and that support me in my personal and professional projects. I am deeply thankful with  Fundación Acción Joven not only for helping me believe in myself, but for teaching me how to fly.¨

Currently, Costa Rica is the Central American country with the highest numbers of youth unemployment, with an approximate of 172,136 youth between 15 and 24 years of age that are neither working nor studying.  This has very serious implications in terms of economic and social stability and represents a serious challenge that must be attended. Vulnerable youth that are outside the educational system and do not have a formal job are especially vulnerable to being recruited by gangs, participate in illicit activities, and make life choices that separate them from the possibility to achieve social mobility.

 Fundación Acción Joven has been working with vulnerable youth for the past 11 years. This has allowed us to understand that in order to generate a real impact in the lives of our youth it is necessary to transcend the very important technical knowledge, and generate spaces to allow each person`s aspirations and dreams to emerge and flourish.  Thanks to your solidarity, our organization has been able to continue impacting at risk youth and offering them with opportunities to continue with their personal and professional development.