Technical Vocational Education and Training Strengthening for At-Risk Youth
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Technical Vocational Education and Training Strengthening for At-Risk Youth (TVET SAY) Proyecto Aprendo y Emprendo FY 2018 Quarter 3 Report (April 1, 2018-June 30, 2018) Submission Date: July 30, 2018 Contract No.: AID-OAA-I-15-00011 Order No. AID-524-TO-15-00001 Contract/Agreement Period: September 28, 2015 to September 24, 2019 COR: Alicia Slate Submitted by: Roger Perez, Chief of Party Creative Associates International, Inc. Managua, Nicaragua Tel: (505) 2255-0020/0028 Email: [email protected] The contents in this publication are the responsibility of Creative Associates International and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. 1 Cover photo: The 25-year-old mother pictured in the photo takes care of her small business in Bluefields on the South Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua while simultaneously caring for her daughters. Thanks to a TVET SAY scholarship, she studies Business Administration at Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University (BICU). The traditional, unbalanced distribution of household responsibilities imposed on most young Nicaraguan women makes it difficult for them to further their education, and TVET SAY’s student counseling has been crucial in helping this young woman continue her program. The TVET SAY project overcomes gender-specific barriers to improve job placement for women and promote gender and ethnic diversity inclusion in Nicaragua’s economy. Photo by TVET SAY’s Youth Counselor Technical Vocational Education and Training Strengthening for At-Risk Youth (TVET SAY) In Spanish Proyecto Aprendo y Emprendo FY 2018 Quarter 3 Report April 1, 2018 – June 30, 2018 iv Table of Contents Acronyms ....................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 1 Reporting Program Indicators Q3 FY2018 ..................................................................................... 3 Component 2: Capacity Building of Private TVET Centers .......................................................... 9 Component 3: Public Perceptions of TVETs ................................................................................ 12 Component 4: Scholarships and Employment Support in the Caribbean Coast........................... 15 Monitoring & Evaluation .............................................................................................................. 19 ANNEXES .................................................................................................................................... 21 Annex 1: Executive Summary for AIR TVET SAY Q3 FY2018 ................................................ 21 v Acronyms ARY At-risk youth BICU Bluefields Indian and Caribbean University CANATUR Nicaraguan Chamber of Tourism/Cámara Nacional de Turismo de Nicaragua CEFODI Centro de Formación y Desarrollo Integral COMPAS-T Comprehensive Positive Assessment Tool COSEP Superior Business Council/Consejo Superior de la Empresa Privada GON Government of Nicaragua MIFIC Industry and Commerce Ministry/Ministerio de Fomento, Industria y Comercio M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MOOC Massive Online Open Courses NIMAC Nicaragua Machinery Company OCAT Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool Q Quarter RACCN Región Autónoma de la Costa Caribe Norte/Autonomous Región of Northern Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua RACCS Región Autónoma de la Costa Caribe Sur/Autonomous Region of Southern Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua RENET Red Nacional de Educación Técnica TVET SAY Technical Vocational Education and Training Strengthening for At- Risk Youth Project/ Proyecto Aprendo y Emprendo URACCAN Universidad de las Regiones Autónomas de la Costa Caribe Nicaragüense vi Creative Associates International (“Creative”) is pleased to present this report highlighting progress during Quarter 3 of Fiscal Year 2018 (FY2018 Q3) for USAID/Nicaragua’s Technical Vocational Education and Training Strengthening for At-Risk Youth project (TVET SAY or in Spanish, “Aprendo y Emprendo”). Executive Summary The TVET SAY project is a four-year effort (2015-2019) to strengthen technical and vocational education institutions that serve at-risk youth in the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. The project aims to improve youth livelihoods through new employment opportunities and technical education that is matched with market demand, which will ultimately improve security in the region. The TVET SAY project has four components with the following objectives: 1. Improve collaboration and information sharing among centers by establishing or strengthening a network of training centers. 2. Strengthen private Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centers to be “model” institutions, providing organizational capacity building and creating private sector alliances. 3. Increase interest and perceived value of TVET programs through public awareness campaigns, especially along the Caribbean Coast. 4. Increase socioeconomic gains for at-risk youth from the Caribbean Coast while enabling safer environments. Nicaragua has been experiencing public protests since April 2018. Insecurity caused by the protests has had implications for the TVET SAY project. The TVET SAY team has been coordinating closely with Creative Headquarters in Washington DC, including Creative’s Security office, and with USAID/Nicaragua. Given the potential for security risks in the capital, the project offices in Managua will be moving to a more secure location. Component 1: TVET Network Development: TVET SAY continues to support RENET with the process of gaining legal recognition from the Nicaraguan Government. The team reviewed the rejection from the Ministerio de Fomento, Industria, y Comercio (MIFIC) and updated the required legal documents for resubmission. Due to the unrest in Nicaragua, RENET’s board of directors focused on internal strengthening and postponed public events until further notice. Accordingly, TVET SAY supported the board of directors with planning for next quarter’s activities. RENET also worked to systematize Collaboration, Learning and Adapting (CLA) with member TVETs. Lessons learned from RENET’s evolution will transform how TVETs, especially TVETs dedicated to at-risk youth, strengthen themselves. Component 2: Capacity Building of Private TVET Centers: TVET SAY continued to provide technical assistance to TVET centers based on OCAT results. Their strategic plans were strengthened in the following areas: expand sustainable financial resources, develop better M&E systems, improve gender policies, and develop soft skills teaching methodologies. 1 Despite the violence going on in Nicaragua, 78 participants completed the virtual diploma, the Diplomado, in May. This online program was designed to strengthen TVETs’ management. The robusta coffee and Chile Tabasco training programs were suspended. Mercon Coffee Group retracted its commitment for support due to economic uncertainty but is open to future collaboration after the situation in Nicaragua improves. The Chile Tabasco training will take place in August 2018. TVET SAY is collaborating with private sector partners, including the Corn Island Tourism Working Group and Carlos Slim Foundation/CLARO, to offer shorter courses using online platforms so that youth do not need to travel to training sites. TVET SAY completed the design of an automotive maintenance course with Casa Pellas and KIPESA, Nicaragua’s Toyota and KIA auto dealerships, which will begin in late July 2018. Caribbean universities URACCAN and BICU were integrated into COSEP’s UBICANICA Platform, a platform which helps youth find internship and employment opportunities. COSEP delivered two training sessions for students of core TVETs titled "The Use of Social Networks to Engage” and “How to Prepare a CV.” Component 3: Public Perceptions of TVETs: TVET SAY continues to improve perceptions of TVETs and increase interest in TVET programs through a multilingual media and youth engagement campaign which engages youth, families, the private sector, and communities. The campaign’s goal is to overcome gender barriers that undermine girls’ and young women’s interest in participating in technical fields traditionally dominated by men. Three animated videos about decision making were launched and TVET SAY delivered messaging through social media about life skills, youth rights and cultural competences. The campaign featured the lack of access to technical and vocational education which LGBTI face and highlighted the contributions and accomplishments of the LGBTI community. TVET SAY expanded its social media reach to 7,023 people on Facebook and 16.9K views on Twitter this quarter. Two articles were published by minority youth who are members of the Youth Advisory Council for Technical Education. The campaign also raised awareness about the risks associated with drugs. The Youth Advisory Council held two working sessions. Youth participating in Bluefields’ Robotic club (supported by BICU and UNICEF) taught kids about benefits of using robotics as a learning tool. Robotics is a new soft skill teaching methodology. Component 4: Scholarship and Employment Support in the Caribbean Coast: This quarter, TVET SAY awarded 68 scholarships to youth from the South and North Caribbean Coasts, bringing the total to 293 students currently enrolled. The new cohort’s retention rate for Q3 FY2018 is 78% and the retention rate from previous cohorts is 74%. Six scholarship recipients