Only 25% of graduates from Costa Rica 's National Institute of Learning managed to obtain a job in the specialty in which they supposedly were trained.
Two articles in Nacion.com warn of the very serious situation that is affecting not only young people who are wasting their time studying what will not help them get a job, but also that demand from companies for trained personnel is not being satisfied either, diminishing the competitiveness of the Costa Rican economy, and bringing down the aforementioned superiority of the country's human capital over the rest of the region.
The government has announced that it expects to invest $400 million in the construction of six technical training centers in areas related to ports, logistics, agriculture, tourism and engineering.
The dynamics of business in Panama in sectors such as logistics and customer service, have increased the demand for qualified personnel for these functions.
The government and the private sector are preparing a plan to provide technical training to one thousand Panamanians per year in areas such as logistics, trading, freight and customer service.
An assessment made by the Ministry of Labor and Development of the Workforce in conjunction with 20 productive sectors concluded that "... Although there is a positive trend in employment generation, reaching an average of 8.1% annually, domestic firms have been limited in their efforts to fill vacancies. "
With the training of 8000 construction workers the guild seeks to improve the quality of the workforce and prepare to meet the demand from projects announced by the government and private industry.
The worker training sessions will be conducted jointly by the Nicaraguan Chamber of Construction (NCC) and the Technological Institute (Inatec), and will begin with the training of 8000 workers over a period of 4 months.
The country's labor problems could be solved by developing an immigration policy that allows skilled foreign workers to work and also train panamanians.
In his opinion piece Rene Quevedo notes the difficulties facing the Panamanian labor market due to a lack of national technical professionals and because of a preference for adult workers over young people with little experience and training.
The industrial sector has proposed a bill so that the National Training Institute can make more efficient use of budgetary resources.
The proposal would allow the Chamber of Industries National Training Institute (INA by its initials in Spanish) to invest resources not only in new buildings but also in buying new equipment and hiring qualified people to teach.
The education of children and young people must be the appropriate in order to fit into a labor market that gets more competitive dayby day or to start their own businesses.
From a statement by the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP):
CONTINUING MODERNIZATION OF EDUCATION IS TASK FOR EVERYONE
In a few days thousands of children and young people will enter classrooms to prepare to be the future of our country.
A legal bill includes a business proposal to train students simultaneously in schools and businesses.
From a press release from the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP):
A project that enables young people to "learn by doing" was signed on Tuesday by the President of the Republic, Laura Chinchilla, so that it can be discussed in the Legislative Assembly.
The shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and Panama International Maritime University have renewed an agreement that allows students to have professional practice sessions.
These Panamanian students can embark on one of the ships belonging to the company, to gain sea time required by the regulations set by the International Maritime Organization.
The second of its kind to be tendered in Panama, the training centre is designed to train technical personnel in various disciplines.
Like the previous centre put out for tender, this centre aims to meet the need for trained staff required by multinationals operating in the Panama Pacific Special Economic Area.
The center will be attended by technicians training for industrial welding, electricity, robotics, telecommunications, technology, computer science, English, electronics and refrigeration.
The government will put in place a training center to address the lack of qualified labor in the country.
Such initiative will be executed by the National Training Institute for Human Development and the Panama Pacifico Agency (APP).
Olmedo Alfaro, manager of APP, expressed his concern over the “lack of technical staff, capable of supplying the needs of transnational companies located in this economic area”.
The main challenge facing the country In order to attract new investments is to satisfy the demand for bilingual staff.
Personnel recruiting companies agree on the need for staff with an advanced level of English.
"This concern is also shared by Gabriela Llobet, director of the Coalition for Initiatives Development (Cinde), responsible for attracting investment to the country.” adds the article in Nacion.com.
The National Secretariat for Science and Technology (SENACYT) is to create an academy to provide training in unified computing, telecommunications and data centers.
SENACYT needs to fill Panama's knowledge gap relative to other countries in the region in the design, configuration and maintenance of computer networks.
The successful bidder will provide the infrastructure necessary to enable SENACYT to offer up to 540 CISCO certificates in unified computing, switching and routing, and dynamic data centers.
Developed by INADEH, the program seeks to train 600 Heavy Machine Operators in 270 hour courses.
The National Human Development Training Institute (INADEH), is looking to prepare qualified laborers for them to participate in the Expansion of the Panama Canal and other infrastructure projects.
From the press release: “students will conduct field practice in the management of tractors, hydraulic excavators, compactors, forklifts, cranes and articulated trucks”.