| Donated computers, equipment allow job center network to expand |
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College student Jubi Martínez was determined to stay in her native El Salvador, rather than follow her brothers to the U.S. to find work. Finally, after a year of fruitless searching, she learned about the government’s job placement centers—and a month after her first visit to one, she landed a position in her chosen field, human resources. "This job is a blessing because I can feel accomplished professionally and personally," Martínez (pictured above) told a crowd on February 15, describing her success at an opening celebration for 17 new job placement centers—furnished with computers and equipment from USAID’s Program for Improving Access to Employment (managed by CARANA). The $100,000 donation will also pay for improvements to the national Ministry of Labor’s Analysis and Research Unit, part of the national employment network RENACEMPLEO. The celebration was another milestone in the USAID Program’s efforts to strengthen El Salvador’s workforce in alliance with the Ministry of Labor. The job placement centers—a total of 52 now, including the new ones—offer a wide range of career services to job seekers, from CV preparation and interviewing advice to matchmaking between candidates and companies.
These services are provided by career counselors, who for the past year have been trained and certified by the Program. So far 60 counselors have completed the training, and 65 are just starting; by Program’s end, it plans to certify 250. The results are striking: The centers’ successful job placements jumped from 2,000 to 6,000 between 2009 and 2010 (180 of which were persons with disabilities). El Salvador’s Director of the Office of National Employment, which supervises RENACEMPLEO, insists the difference was made by the now trained and professional counselors. At the event, Michelle Jennings, Director of USAID/El Salvador’s Office of Economic Growth, commended the Government of El Salvador for recognizing the importance of connecting the demand and supply of employment. Minister of Labor Victoria Marina de Avilés said international cooperation was crucial to keeping the centers a reliable source of quality employment. Press coverage:
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