Career Transition Workshops for high school students and teachers

International Youth Foundation (2024)

1. Context

The International Youth Foundation (IYF) launched the Youth Capital initiative in collaboration with the Mexican Banking Association (ABM) and Bécalos. This initiative arose in response to the skills gaps identified for entry-level positions in financial and banking institutions in Mexico. As part of this initiative, the Technical Course in Financial and Banking Services was developed at CONALEP (National College of Technical Professional Education) to meet the specific training needs of ABM banks.

To support the job search processes of students in the Technical Course, Otrera conducted the Transition to the World of Work workshop. This workshop was initially designed for students, but later its content was transferred, through a train-the-trainer approach, to upper secondary school teachers so that they could integrate it into their teaching processes with Capital Juvenil students to support them in their entry into the labor market.

2. Objective

The overall objective of the project was to train EMS teachers so that they could transfer the knowledge and skills necessary for the transition to work to active students in Capital Juvenil. This involved two specific objectives:

a) Adapt the contents of the Transition to the World of Work workshop to meet the needs and schedules of Capital Juvenil teachers and students, incorporating a gender perspective.

b) Train CONALEP teachers from the states of Aguascalientes, Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Jalisco, and Oaxaca, using a train-the-trainer approach, on content adapted from the Transition to the World of Work workshop.

3. Results

Between May and June 2024, a series of workshops were held as part of this project:

- An in-person workshop on Transitioning to the Workplace was held with 36 students from CONALEP Magdalena Contreras in Mexico City.

- Six virtual workshops were given to 32 teachers from CONALEP in Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Jalisco, and Oaxaca.

The workshops covered topics such as personal branding, identifying professional achievements, imposter syndrome, CV writing, discriminatory biases, job interviews, and job hunting.

The results of the satisfaction surveys showed a highly positive reception among students. This project provided both teachers and students with key skills for the transition to the world of work, thus helping to close the skills gaps identified in the financial and banking sector.

Study on experiences in implementing the La Escuela es Nuestra 

(The School is Ours) Program 

Centro de Estudios Educativos, A.C. (2024)

1. Project context

The La Escuela Es Nuestra (LEEN) program was implemented in mid-2019 with the aim of improving infrastructure, equipment, and services in public elementary schools. LEEN represents a significant change in Mexico's educational infrastructure policy, moving from a centralized model to one that allocates resources directly to school communities. This change is based on two main assumptions: proximity (communities know the needs of their schools better) and trust (community management reduces the risks of corruption). By the end of the last six-year term, more than 173,000 public schools had received LEEN subsidies, with a total investment of around 84 billion pesos.

Otrera collaborated with the Center for Educational Studies, A.C. in conducting this study, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, to learn about schools' experiences with the program and develop recommendations for strengthening it.

2. Project objective

The study sought to learn about the experiences of implementing the LEEN Program in school communities from diverse sociodemographic contexts, focusing on aspects involving the School Participatory Management Committee (CEAP). Specific objectives included:

• Evaluate compliance with the program's Operating Rules.

• Understand the decision-making processes of the CEAPs.

• Analyze how the Operating Rules favor or do not favor the appropriate and reliable use of resources.

• Examine the relationship between LEEN and community participation in school matters.

• Collect assessments from CEAPs and school principals on the benefits of the program.

A qualitative approach was used based on 78 semi-structured interviews with members of CEAPs, Social Oversight Committees, and school principals from a sample of 21 schools in five states, selected randomly according to criteria of subsidy range, educational level, and type of service. The interviews were then coded in Dedoose, identifying emerging themes and categories for analysis.

3. Project results

This analysis made it possible to identify how the program's implementation adheres to the Operating Rules, as well as the processes in which there are variations between schools. The study also highlighted the challenges faced by communities, the different strategies and adaptations followed by CEAPs to develop projects, and the influence of community participation on implementation experiences. Finally, a report was prepared with recommendations to strengthen the program, mainly in terms of transparency and accountability in resource management.