"Technical Vocational Training for Local Development and Employment"
3 to 6 november 2003.

FOURTH MEETING OF TECHNICAL VOCATIONAL TRAINING BODIES AND INSTITUTIONS OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

 

Last November 3rd, the Minister of Labour and Social Security, Bach. Jorge Isidoro Nieto, opened the Fourth Meeting of Technical Vocational Training Bodies and Institutions of Latin America and the Caribbean which was hosted by the Salvadorian Vocational Training Institute (INSAFORP).

This meeting was held in our country from November 3rd to 6th and it was organised by INSAFORP in coordination with the Latin American Technical Vocational Training Bodies and Institutions Network which was created in the year 2000 through an initiative taken by GTZ, Cinterfor/ILO and OEI.

During the opening ceremony, the Minister of Labour, Bach. Jorge Nieto; the Minister of Education, Eng. Rolando Marín; the Sub-Minister of Commerce and Industry, Bach. Imelda Jaco de Magaña and the President of INSAFORP, Bach. David Gutiérrez Miranda were present.

This year, the event was called "Technical Vocational Training for the Local Development and Employment" and a number of experts from Latin America and Europe took part. They contributed with experiences and made public some successful cases or technical vocational training projects that have been implemented in different countries around Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

This meeting, related to employment and local development, gathered the top representatives of vocational training from Latin America and the Caribbean as well as from international cooperating institutions coming from: Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Sweden, United States and Germany.

The objectives of the meeting were: to continue with the Network implemented in 2000, discuss strategic topics that may allow national and foreign organizations to design their plans in order to promote local development and employment through technical vocational training, among other things.

As it is usual in these meetings, there were present people who are in charge of key educational institutions in the world and technical vocational training institutions in the region and who contributed to the advance and discussion about models and successful experiences in Latin American technical vocational training.

During the Congress, we had the chance to attend brilliant lectures:

The decade of Education and Sustained Development and Challenges for Vocational Training: an approach to the reduction of poverty in Latin America; by Doctor Alexander Segovia Cáceres, International Consultant and Executive Director of the company "Democracia y Desarrollo Consultores S. A." based in Guatemala.

Doctor Segovia made an analysis of the macro-economic elements, particularly of those concerning Latin America, which limit or promote the sustainable development of the regions and which must be approached in an integral way from the technical vocational training fields.

Education and successful preparation of careers in Latin America; by Daniel Hull, Director of CORD, Center for Occupational Research and Development and permanent consultant for the International Development Bank (IDB) United States.

Mr. Hull approached education trends from the point of view of the IDB, the factors that have motivated those transactions and the strategy in Latin America.

Successful experiences of Vocational Training for the local development and employment: there is always something else to give, the cooperative experience in Mondragon, Spain; by Mr. Eugenio Astirraga, Pedagogical Director of the company "ALECOP, S. Coop." and member of "Proyectos Educativos Innovadores"(Innovative Educational Projects), mainly oriented to Latin America.

Astirraga evaluated vocational training programmes which manage to successfully consider social and entrepreneurial demands as well as economic and social development actors in a particular region.

Along with this event, four roundtables were held which were oriented to the following topics: integral vision of local development; innovations to technical vocational training; successful models of management, financing and implementation of factors for local development and employment.
The participants, with the help of facilitators worked on a final document which included the conclusions and in which they designed proposals and strategies which may allow keeping track of the discussed topics and obtain a higher participation of actors such as: local governments, central government, private companies and cooperating bodies.

TRADITIONAL DINNER

On November 5th a traditional dinner was offered to foreign visitors with the intention of showing another aspect of the Salvadorian culture.

During the dinner, visitors were able to taste delicious typical dishes such as: the traditional "pupusas", "enchiladas", fried "frijoles", and rice pudding among other things.

The finishing touch was provided by the group of folk dance of the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y el Arte (CONCULTURA; National Council for the Culture and Art) who danced dances such as the "torito pinto", the "armadillo", the "carbonero" and "San Miguel's" Carnival, among others.

Finally, all the participants danced with "Combo Sabroso" who interpreted different melodies which included "salsa", "merengue", "cumbia" and romantic music.

FOURTH MEETING'S CLOSING CEREMONY

The closing ceremony of the Fourth Meeting of Technical Vocational Training Bodies and Institutions of Latin America and the Caribbean was held on November 6th and conducted by both the Minister of Education, Eng. Rolando Marín and the President of INSAFORP, Bach. David Gutiérrez Miranda.

During the closing ceremony, the Minister of Education recognised the important achievements regarding vocational training that have regionally been attained and encouraged the participants to continue working in order to improve and improve the human resources' qualifications of each participating country.

Finally, the participants were taken the traditional group photographs. This year, the Minister of Education and the leading authorities of INSAFORP also took part in the picture.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

- Summit meeting in June 2005; the place where it will take place is still uncertain. INSAFORP and OEI will keep track of the agreements.
- Sub-regional meetings in 2004, in which INSAFORP is positioned as the coordinating institution.
- Invite key people to take part in the working teams.
- Promote and support sub-regional interchange.
- Commitment to support the 5th Meeting.
- There will be a follow-up to the Fourth Meeting.

NETWORK'S HISTORY

The Latin American Technical Vocational Training Bodies and Institutions Network was implemented thanks to an initiative by GTZ, Cinterfor/ILO and OEI, in 2000.

After a very positive experience of the participants who had room and time for conceptual and strategic discussions about technical vocational training in the region, a second meeting was organized in July 2001 in Jamaica.

During the second Congress the progress during such period was evaluated and it was decided to organize a third meeting which would take place in October 2002 in Santiago, Chile. At that time, it was agreed to hold a fourth meeting in El Salvador.

More information available in INSAFORP's web site at: www.insaforp.org.sv

The Inter-American Centre for Knowledge Development in Vocational Training (ILO/Cinterfor)
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