J.1.1_Empleando Futuros FY20 Q2 Report_FINAL.pdf

Contract No.: AID-522-16-TO-00003

Submitted: April 30, 2020

This report is made possible by the generous support of the American People through the United

States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the contractor and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. It was prepared by Banyan Global for Empleando Futuros.

EMPLEANDO FUTUROS

QUARTERLY REPORT

• January - March 2020

EMPLEANDO FUTUROS

QUARTERLY REPORT

JANUARY - MARCH 2020

Contract No.: AID-522-16-TO-00003

Submitted to: Violeta Guillen

Contracting Officer’s Representative

USAID Honduras

DISCLAIMER

This report is made possible by the generous support of the American People through the United States

Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the contractor and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. It was prepared by Banyan

Global for the Empleando Futuros Project.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 3

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project Name Empleando Futuros

Contract Number AID 522-16-TO-00003

Activity Start Date June 2016

Activity End Date June 2021

Prime Implementer Banyan Global

Subcontractor Education Development Center

Geographic Coverage Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Tela, Choloma, La Ceiba, Villanueva, La Lima

Reporting Period January 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 4

CONTENTS

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 SUMMARY OF RESULTS AND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

1.3 CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED AND LESSONS LEARNED

2. ACTIVITY IMPLEMENTATION

2.1 SUBMISSION OF DELIVERABLES

2.2 PROGRESS NARRATIVE

3. COLLABORATION AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING

3.1 LINKAGES WITH OTHER USAID ACTIVITIES

3.2 COLLABORATION AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING WITH PARTNER

ENTITIES IN HOST GOVERNMENT AND OTHER DONOR AGENCIES

3.3 COLLABORATION CHALLENGES

4. INTEGRATION OF CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES

4.1 GENDER AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

4.2 SAFETY AND SECURITY

5. MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

5.1 ACHIEVEMENTS, CONSTRAINTS, AND CRITICAL ISSUES

5.2 PERSONNEL

5.3 ADAPTATION OF THE ACTIVITY

5.4 MODIFICATIONS AND AMENDMENTS

6. MONITORING, EVALUATION, AND LEARNING

6.1 PERFORMANCE MONITORING

6.2 EXTERNAL EVALUATION

7. PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR FY20 QUARTER 3

8. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

8.1 CASH FLOW CHART

8.2 BUDGET DETAILS AND NOTES

8.3 SUB-AWARD DETAILS

9. BRANDING, COMMUNICATION, AND DISSEMINATION

9.1 KEY COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES

9.2 BRANDING

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 5

ANNEXES

ANNEX 1: SUSTAINABILITY AND EXIT STRATEGY

ANNEX 2: PATHWAY TO EMPLOYMENT PERFORMANCE DATA

ANNEX 3: TRANSFER OF TOOLS AND METHODOLOGIES

ANNEX 4: FINANCIAL INFORMATION

ANNEX 5: EMPLOYABILITY TIPS

ANNEX 6: SUCCESS STORY 1

ANNEX 7: SUCCESS STORY 2

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 6

ACRONYMS AND

ABBREVIATIONS

APAZ Alianza para la Paz (Alliance for Peace)

CADERH Centro Asesor de Recursos Humanos (Human Resources Activity Council of

Honduras)

CADF Central American Donor Forum

CBT Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

CCICH Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Choloma

CENET National Center for Work Education

CESAL Centro de Estudios y Solidaridad con América Latina (Center for Studies and

Solidarity with Latin America)

CLA Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting

CONEANFO Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de la Educación Alternativa No Formal

(National Commission for the Development of Alternative Non-Formal

Education)

COP Chief of party

DCOP Deputy chief of party

DO Development objective

DQA Data quality assessment

EDC Education Development Center

EFIS Empleando Futuros Information System

FY Fiscal year

GBV Gender-based violence

GIZ German Agency for International Development

GSC Grupo Sociedad Civil

INFOP Instituto Nacional de Formación (National Vocational Training Institute)

LOP Life of the project

M&E Monitoring and evaluation

MEL Monitoring, evaluation, and learning

MESCLA Monitoring and Evaluation Support for Collaborative Learning and Adapting

MoU Memorandum of understanding

PAG Proyecto Aldea Global (Global Village Project)

Q1 Quarter 1

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 7

Q2 Quarter 2

Q3 Quarter 3

Q4 Quarter 4

R1 Result 1

R2 Result 2

R3 Result 3

RETE Technical Association for Solidarity and International Cooperation

RFA Request for applications

SENAEH Honduran Ministry of Labor’s National Employment Service Office

SOMOS CDC El Centro para el Desarrollo y la Cooperación (Center for Development and

Cooperation)

TVET Technical and vocational education and training

USAID United States Agency for International Development

WFD Workforce development

VIP-RA Violence Involved Persons Risk Assessment

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 8

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.1 INTRODUCTION

On June 30, 2016, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Honduras awarded Banyan Global a five-year task order to provide professional and technical services for the implementation of the USAID/Honduras Workforce Development (WFD) Activity that is part of USAID/Honduras’ Country Development Cooperation Strategy under Development Objective

(DO) 1, Sub-intermediate Result 1.1.2: “Quality services that protect against violence increased.”

Through the WFD Activity, later named Empleando Futuros (Employing Futures), USAID/Honduras’ broader objective is to increase citizen security for vulnerable populations in urban, high-crime areas in Honduras by supporting WFD that will increase income-generating opportunities for youth who are at risk of being perpetrators as well as victims of violence. The

WFD Activity strengthens comprehensive workforce readiness services, including job linkages and self-employment, to benefit at-risk youth, including those who qualify for secondary and tertiary services.

On March 30, 2019, the president of the United States announced his intention to cut foreign assistance to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras in response to high rates of illegal migration from this region to the United States. This announcement triggered a series of FY19 and FY20 program adjustments including scaling back training inputs and canceling contracts with local

Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) organizations for Result 1 (R1), postponing resource-heavy activities with the National Vocational Training Institute (INFOP), and cancelling plans for new training groups for Result 3 (R3). The activities reported on here are part of the adjusted project workplan submitted to USAID in late 2019.

On March 15, 2020, the president of Honduras closed its international borders and ordered all-but-essential businesses closed as part of the country’s plan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Empleando Futuros staff have been working from their residences since March 16 and all meetings or gatherings with staff, implementing and collaborating partners, private sector partners, and beneficiaries have been postponed or adjusted to virtual meetings until the government can safely re-open the country. The disruption in activities has caused hundreds of beneficiaries to temporarily lose their employment and a re-shifting of activities and priorities by staff to support the country’s response plan. While it is not known how long the country will be on lockdown or the full impact of the lockdown measures on the project’s three Results, it is expected that job insertion rates, transference and institutionalization activities with INFOP and other vocational organizations, and the micro-businesses started by the beneficiaries will all be negatively impacted.

Banyan Global submitted an immediate COVID-19 response plan to USAID Honduras focusing on four key areas: (1) system level technical assistance to the Government of Honduras focusing on the development and distribution of bio-safety training curricula for businesses; (2) a communication’s campaign aimed at youth, staff and implementing partners to promote safety, resilience, emotional well-being and share information on educational resources; (3) engaging out-of-work youth for job recovery insertion activities, surveying youth to understand of impacts crisis

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 9 on them and their families, and offer targeted subsidies to youth to help cover increased transportation costs; and, (4) system level support for the private sector through chambers of commerce, foundations and associations to support safe and responsible return-to-work activities as well as help businesses adjust to new operating realities. At the end of the quarter, this plan was under review but was expected to be approved in early April.

The following quarter report covers activities from January 1 to March 31, 2020.

1.2 SUMMARY OF RESULTS AND KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

The majority of FY20 Quarter 2 (Q2) activities focused on job insertion for R1 beneficiaries and transference and institutionalization of workforce tools and methods with INFOP and other institutions through R2. The summary below outlines key achievements by result. Details of each achievement are found throughout the report.

Result 1

• 320 graduates were documented as obtaining employment or returning to formal education and 728 graduates reached the quality employment/return to education indicator.

• Project managed job resource centers helped 685 youth update their resumes, provided counseling by phone to almost 60 youth per week throughout the quarter.

• 58 beneficiaries participated in a motivational and job preparation workshop led by two private sector companies.

• Empleando Futuros completed the process of integration of cognitive behavioral therapy within vocational training activities and shared lessons from these experiences in a workshop for 40 technical and professional staff from governmental and non-governmental organizations serving youth.

Result 2

• The project signed agreements with five TVET organizations to begin a transference and institutionalization process through which these organizations will gain project generated tools, receive training on implementation techniques, and eventually adapt them for their own use serving an expected 2,300 beneficiaries this year.

• Empleando Futuros advanced transference plans with two government organizations, three additional private sector groups, and three projects funded by other governments to share tools and enhance services for youth.

Result 3

• Seven leaders of the barras bravas (soccer fan clubs ) received their certificates for completing the National Center for Work Education (CENET) training as entrepreneurship facilitators.

• Project staff conducted follow-on calls and updated the progress of the 27 businesses managed by R3 beneficiaries.

Other

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 10

• The Monitoring and Evaluation Support for Collaborative Learning and Adapting

(MESCLA) project and Notre Dame University started work in March on the Empleando

Futuros Performance Evaluation.

• Empleando Futuros hosted two high-profile visits: One included two high-level USAID staff and the other three US Congressional aides. Each visit featured time to interact with beneficiaries, members of the private sector and staff.

• The project leveraged $26,521 in governmental and private-sector support for training during this quarter.

• Empleando Futuros celebrated International Women’s Day by highlighting the contributions of five women who are program beneficiaries or collaborators.

• The project started a specialized training activity for 13 female beneficiaries to help them qualify to apply for forklift operator jobs with a large employer.

• Ten youth with disabilities participated in a Walmart job fair on Saturday, February 29th.

• Empleando Futuros participated in USAID’s Education Development Office behavioral change and communications campaign conducted in conjunction with the Ministry of

Education and other USAID projects.

1.3 CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED AND LESSONS LEARNED

• Staff reductions due to the funding freeze caused the number of staff to drop from 26 at the beginning of the quarter to 15 at the end of the quarter. Fortunately, the remaining staff have shown remarkable flexibility and resilience in meeting the challenges related to adjusting their responsibilities and taking on new challenges resulting from the pandemic.

• The COVID-19 pandemic caused the offices to be closed and all in-person activities with youth, implementing partners and collaborators to be cancelled until further notice.

• Due to the pandemic, it is estimated that over 60% of all employed beneficiaries will either be fired or temporarily lose their employment and there is no estimated date for when businesses could return to operation.

• Combining individualized attention with social media campaigns for job skill development is showing promise for reaching higher numbers of youth.

• The Empleando Futuros’ methodologies are respected and considered successful. There is a growing interest by the private sector and government agencies in receiving numerous Empleando Futuros tools, manuals and methods with the goal of institutionalizing them within their organizations or institutions. This process was greatly aided by the development of a catalogue of 17 different tools which is used to market these services to others.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 11

2. ACTIVITY IMPLEMENTATION

2.1 SUBMISSION OF DELIVERABLES

As of March 2020, Empleando Futuros has submitted the following deliverables.

Table 1: Submission of Deliverables

Deliverable Submission Date

1 FY20 Q1 Report January 30, 2020

2 FY20 Q1 Report Revision March 19, 2020

3 January and July 2020 Milestones April 13, 2020

2.2 PROGRESS NARRATIVE

The following sections detail progress for the three project results over the past quarter.

2.2.1 RESULT 1

Activities for the quarter focused primarily on follow-on and job insertion for beneficiaries, including specialized training activities for small groups of program graduates to help them qualify for unique job opportunities requiring additional skills beyond those they had developed during the program. Due to the FY19 funding freeze, all other formal training activities were concluded in FY20 Q1 and thus no new youth entered the program nor did any youth complete their training during this period. The advent of the coronavirus pandemic impacted specialized training activities and job insertions during March. During Q2, project staff documented 320 youth obtaining employment or returning to school for a life of project total of 2,448 R1 graduates by

March 31, 2020.

Table 2: R1 Key Achievements for FY20 Q1

Youth Registered, FY20 Q1 0

Youth Completing Training 0

Youth Obtaining Employment or Returning to

Formal Education

Youth Reaching Quality Employment Indicator 728

Result 1

At least 7,500 at-risk youth will have benefited from comprehensive workforce development services with improved job placement and self-employment rates; and, At least 50 percent of youth who received services from the WFD Activity will have obtained new or improved employment, including self-employment.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 12

Municipalities Served Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Choloma, Tela, La Ceiba, Villanueva, and La Lima

Youth Entering and/or Completing Training

Due to the FY19 funding freeze, no new groups started during the period. Likewise, all previous groups had completed their formal training by the end of Q1 and thus there are no changes in the numbers of youth registered nor youth graduates.

Implementing Partner Activities

Three implementing partners continued to work with youth on follow-on activities during the quarter. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Choloma (CCICH), the National Commission on Alternative Non-Formal Education (CONEANFO) and Libre Expresion all worked to provide follow-on and job insertion activities to project beneficiaries. CCICH and CONEANFO operated through their training agreements that expired on March 31. Libre Expresion’s agreement had already concluded but early in the quarter, they received a reimbursement from the Honduran

National Institute for Professional Development (INFOP) for previously provided services related to Empleando Futuros. Those funds were then utilized to embed Libre Expresion staff to support follow-on activities led by the Empleando Futuros staff .

The following table demonstrates the training, completion and job insertion statistics obtained by

CCICH and CONEANFO during the life of their agreements with Empleando Futuros.

Table 3: Implementing Partner Completion Rates

Organization Phase 1 (P1)

Completed

% of P1

Goal

Phase 2 (P2)

Completed % of P2 Goal Completed

CCICH 429 107% 389 108%

CONEANFO 63 105% 301 100%

Totals 492 107% 690 105%

This table demonstrates that the two organizations exceeded 100% of their goals in all three areas, especially in the most important category: job insertion/return to school. Success is attributed to:

a) Better knowledge of the labor market. The organizations were able to more precisely identify the needs and requirements of the different businesses.

b) A focus on demand. A high percentage of the training processes, especially those used in the later part of 2019 were in direct response to business requests. Training processes were specifically oriented on an existing or upcoming business demand.

c) Resilience. Both institutions demonstrated flexibility in balancing the needs of the youth and the market and they were proactive in implementing lessons learned from previous experiences to enhance their training and job insertion activities.

d) Skill development of the technical team. The accumulated experiences of the team along with their personal knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of each youth helped them train youth and more effectively profile them to the needs of businesses.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 13

e) Established Business Relationships. Both teams have focused on relationship management since the beginning of the grants in order to develop mutually beneficial relationships with private sector actors. The time and focus on relationship development resulted in improved understanding of private sector needs in order to customize training, honest feedback to improve training processes, and levels of trust in Empleando Futuros’ candidate competencies.

Youth Coaching, Follow-on and Job Insertion Activities

In Q1, as several vocational training implementers were completing their contractual work, Empleando Futuros created job resource centers within its offices in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro

Sula. The centers allow youth to: a) search for new job opportunities and continue developing their skills through on-line courses with access to internet and dedicated computers; b) update their resumes; and, c) have opportunities to receive face-to-face guidance from project team members to practice for and receive feedback from interviews as well as discuss other issues occurring in their lives. The open-door policy has proven to be well received by youth and has helped project staff to better understand the strengths and areas of improvement of each youth while identifying candidates for job vacancies. Before the COVID-19 lockdown measures were enacted, the two offices received an average of 10 youth daily, completed approximately 60 follow-on calls weekly, and helped 685 youth update their resumes.

As demonstrated by the graphic below, follow-on activities, delivered both through the project offices and the two implementing partners, could be divided into three categories: follow-up calls;

in-office attention; and coaching. The figure describes the different types of activities provided within each category, each with the ultimate goal of helping youth obtain or retain employment.

Figure 1

One of the challenges that Empleando Futuros has faced in this area concerns how to “level-up” the youth labor competencies with respect to the constantly evolving changes in the labor market such as: online psychological exams given by businesses; tests/exams related to honesty and trust levels; demands on specific work hours; determining the flexibility and proactivity levels of youth;

the development of multiple-competencies within a job; and others. As businesses adjust to the needs of the market, they are more demanding and require a mix of skills such as technical knowledge (barista or motorcycle repair) along with competencies in retail sales or experience in electricity or maintenance combined with warehouse management. Because of the high unemployment rates and high number of applicants per job, businesses tend to hire those youth who are more extroverted, proactive or who demonstrate a strong commitment. Therefore, to

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 14 better help those youth, these targeted follow-on activities are necessary for youth to successfully make it through an interview process. The table below outlines the number of beneficiaries for each of the major follow-on services offered.

Table 4: Targeted Follow-on Activities

Activity Objective Number of

Beneficiaries

Update Resume Improve resume focus to show past experience and results obtained

Strengthening Work

Capacities

Train youth in complementary market needs beyond what they developed through formal training

Follow-On Call Update the status and improve the resume of each youth

Personalized Coaching Strengthen resilience and job capacities 380

COVID-19 Calls Motivate youth and understand how they were impacted by the crisis

As part of this effort to strengthen youth capabilities, , Empleando Futuros worked with BAC-

Credomatic, Grupo FARINTER, CRC, INFOP, the Carlos Slim Foundation and other to address:

a) motivational and customer service attitudes and skills, b) certify food handling skills and c) provide online courses for forklift operators.

New Hiring Processes

While the most traditional hiring mechanism for businesses is one-by-one (individual recruitment, interview, and selection), during the quarter, Emplando Futuros staff worked with Cerveceria

Hondurena, Grupo OPSA, CRC, FARSIMAN, BAC-Credomatic, BANRURAL, and Walmart to refer groups of 10-30 youth for group opportunities. Through the process outlined in the figure below, at least 150 youth were referred for interviews and at least 30 were hired before the COVID-

19 crisis began.

Figure 2: Hiring Mechanisms

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 15

Workshops for Youth

Empleando Futuros conducted motivational and skill improvement workshops for youth focusing on subjects such as: “How to Present Myself for a Job Interview”; “The Importance of Dressing

Professionally for a Job Interview”; and others. Additionally, in alliance with the private sector, 58 Empleando Futuros beneficiaries participated in a special 90-minute information and motivation talk at the Honduran Museum of Cultural Identity. Staff from the corporate social responsibility branch of a national pharmacy chain known “Farmacia Kielsa” gave a motivational talk entitled “The Power of Your Words” designed to help youth in their job search. Staff from

BAC-Credomatic, a regional banking group, gave a financial literacy presentation to the same group.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

In February, Empleando Futuros staff supported a “Lessons in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” workshop led and sponsored by Catholic Relief Services. Project staff shared experiences from

Empleando Futuros efforts to integrate CBT in training activities and develop tools for identification of youth needs. Approximately 40 technical and professional staff from governmental and non-governmental organization attended the workshop.

The ongoing support by Grupo Sociedad Civil (GSC) concluded in February with interviews to collect observations and recommendations from the facilitators that were implementing the diagnostic sessions with youth. Empleando Futuros held small focus groups with youth to receive feedback on how useful the sessions were perceived. The feedback was positive from youth and facilitators noting that the themes discussed could easily be integrated into the Mentorship and

Life Skills component of the program in the future. Youth also highlighted that the different exercises they worked through in the sessions helped them identify the root cause of their thoughts and behaviors by focusing on their past experiences, on how the way they think and act changes the way they feel, and how to improve their self-control.

More than 450 youth participated in the CBT intervention across Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Choloma, La Lima, and La Ceiba. The systemization report is expected to be completed by GSC in FY20 Q3. Early drafts are reflecting the diagnostic results found below. The facilitators then focused the sessions and tools related to the diagnostic. In most cases, the sessions were held in groups, but individualized attention was also identified and provided, as needed.

Assessment of necessary attention levels o Basic: 72.06% o Intermediate: 19.96% o Advanced: 7.98%

• Most prevalent irrational thoughts or mistaken belief in:

o 62.07% have Divine Reward thoughts – “If I act in the correct way or sacrifice, I will be rewarded in the future.”

o 6.9% have Justice thoughts – “My perception and evaluation of scenarios is the most correct.”

o 6.03% have Should/Out/Must thoughts – Statements that impose unrealistic expectations upon oneself or behavior.

• Most prevalent interpersonal skills that need additional strengthening o Self-control

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 16 o Empathy o Conflict Resolution

• Most prevalent social skills that need additional strengthening o Management of feelings o Management of stress

RESULT 1 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Major challenges and opportunities for the quarter year included:

• Territorial based recruitment efforts are increasingly popular amongst businesses. While this limits opportunities to only those youth from certain communities, it helps businesses retain staff, and decrease absenteeism and tardiness for those who are hired.

• Businesses are increasingly using more standardized recruitment and application materials and they are choosing only the most assertive youth who apply. While this is a standard the project aims to fill, assertiveness is a difficult skill/value to master during a short training period.

• Despite being offered employment, some youth are rejecting opportunities due to major misconceptions of what the labor market has to offer. For example, they do not want to work during the traditional Monday-Friday model or do not want to start with a temporary or hourly wage assignment.

• Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, it is estimated that over 60% of all employed beneficiaries will either permanently or temporarily lose their employment.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 17

RESULT 1 LOGIC MODEL

2.2.2 RESULT 2

Result 2 activities during the quarter not only focused on INFOP but also included strengthening the capacity of other Workforce Development (WFD) providers that make up part of the greater

INFOP/Honduras WFD network. The well-documented challenges of working with INFOP necessitate this expansion of activities as part of Empleando Futuros’ goal to strengthen WFD capacities and enable Honduran institutions to meet the needs of a changing labor market and at-risk youth population. Activities for the quarter included:

INFOP Specific Activities

On January 13, Empleando Futuros staff met with staff from Euro+Labor to prioritize activities in 2020 in support of INFOP’s job prospecting office. Euro+Labor leads these activities with

INFOP and with Empleando Futuros support. The priority activities discussed were:

• Formalize and clarify the role of the Job Prospecting office.

• Train Job Prospecting office staff in prospecting methodologies and in successful office management.

• Review and comment on the Job Prospecting offices’ 2020 plan.

• Assure that they complete at least 1 integrated prospecting process by June 2020.

Result 2

INFOP will have strengthened their institutional capacity to provide quality services and to effectively align services with the needs of the private sector.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 18

Empleando Futuros support activities for the job prospecting office were delayed several times due to scheduling issues with Euro+Labor. These issues were not resolved before COVID-19 restrictions were put in place and are thus on hold.

Empleando Futuros was able to advance directly with INFOP on activities related to transference of project tools and methods with the goal of INFOP institutionalizing them as part of their operations. Following meetings in December where Empleando Futuros presented a catalogue of

17 tools and methods, INFOP submitted a request to the project for 12 of those tools to be transferred to them. In January, INFOP trained approximately 50 youth in a life skills course that was adapted from the Empleando Futuros model. Later, a transference plan was developed and submitted to USAID in February that details how and when the different workshops will take place. Between mid-February and mid-March, Empleando Futuros and INFOP met approximately twice per week to work out the details of the transference and institutionalization activities.

Priority was being placed on transferring and institutionalizing the life skills, basic labor competencies and mentoring components. On March 6, Empleando Futuros staff met with a group of 30 INFOP instructors to promote the transference and institutionalization of the project’s Life

Skills, Basic Labor Competencies and Mentoring programs.

Ministry of Labor Activities

Following a meeting by USAID staff on March 1, USAID and Empleando Futuros staff met with six members of the Ministry of Labor’s SENAEH (national employment service) office in

Tegucigalpa to discuss their interest in receiving project manuals and methods as well as for referring project youth to be listed on their job databank. The Empleando Futuros staff shared its catalogue of 17 manuals, tools and processes that can be transferred to other organizations.

SENAEH staff were particularly interested in learning more about Empleando Futuros’ work in youth follow-on and job placement activities and system management; the project’s information system Empleando Futuros Information System (EFIS), and the entrepreneurship program used with tertiary youth. The meeting also explored ways for Empleando Futuros beneficiaries to take advantage of SENAEH’s job bank and job insertion services. The first of several follow-up meetings took place on March 4th as part of the project’s focus on increasing job insertion rates for beneficiaries as well as transferring and institutionalizing project tools and methods with local institutions linked to USAID’s funding for self-reliance initiative.

Just before the COVID-19 crisis, SANAEH promised a list of employers seeking candidates with the profiles of R1 candidates and the two groups agreed to work on a more detailed transference and institutionalization plan. The efforts have been delayed due to the crisis.

Transference to Other WFD Organizations

Numerous times throughout the quarter, project staff met with leaders of the Chamber of

Commerce and Industry of Tegucigalpa (CCIT), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of

Choloma (CCICH), San Juan Bosco, CADERH, Libre Expresión, CONEANFO, Grupo INTUR, the Honduran Manufacturing Association, ProJoven, CAPAZ, and FORPROHN to develop plans for transferring and institutionalizing Empleando Futuros tools and methods within their institutions or projects. By mid-March, agreements had been reached with five of these organizations and signing ceremonies were conducted to launch the activities. Plans with the other

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 19 organizations were advancing until the COVID-19 restrictions were implemented. The following are some details of those plans:

• On March 10, Empleando Futuros and the Choloma Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) to formally transfer and institutionalize project materials, methods, and tools in support of on-going activities led by the chamber.

The chamber is currently an Empleando Futuros implementer and this effort formalizes a process that began months ago to support the chamber’s development as a vocational training organization and to ensure that US government investments beyond the life of

Empleando Futuros. Initial transference activities will focus on systemization and management level controls to improve the quality and cost-efficiencies as the chamber increases their capacities in vocational training and job insertion activities. The Chamber is leveraging this effort as part of their collaboration with INFOP as a certified vocational training provider. It is expected that 200 youth will benefit from these activities in 2020 alone.

• In a joint ceremony held on March 12, Empleando Futuros signed four separate MoUs to formally transfer and institutionalize project materials, methods and tools in support of on-going activities led by CADERH, San Juan Bosco, Libre Expresion and CONEANFO.

Together, this is expected to benefit 2,100 youth in 2020 alone. All four organizations worked successfully as Empleando Futuros implementers, therefore the training process for each can be accelerated. The immediate areas of focus for transference includes life skills, basic labor competencies, mentoring, cognitive behavioral therapy and job insertion support. Banyan Global’s President and CEO, Meaghan Smith, as well as the USAID

Contracting Office Representative (COR), Violeta Guillen, each participated and shared remarks in the event.

Empleando Futuros and CONEANFO staff celebrate signing of agreement.

Implementing organizations, USAID and Banyan Global staff pose with training tools being transferrred.

• In February, USAID’s Ana Rubi and Empleando Futuros’ Linsey Jaco from met with leaders of the Honduras Manufacturing Association (AMH) to discuss needs and opportunities for the transfer of project tools and methods. Plans are under construction.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 20

• In February, Empleando Futuros staff met with the Executive Director of the Tegucigalpa

Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIT) to review the 17 transferable tools who later made a formal request to initiate the transfer process. The plan was interrupted by the

COVID-19 crisis but will continue as soon as possible.

• Following orientation meetings with the new INTUR Institute director and her presentation to the company’s senior management, Grupo INTUR has requested that Empleando

Futuros begin a formal transference and institutionalization process with them that will support their efforts to be certified as an INFOP training provider. Grupo INTUR is a conglomerate of several businesses in Honduras, including numerous fast food restaurants, that operates a school and provides vocational training Empleando Futuros and several

USAID activities have partnered with Grupo INTUR and the institute in numerous activities supporting youth. The meeting on March 10 discussed key elements of this transference process that will help them meet the INFOP vocational school provider requirements, data base management for training and job insertion, life skills, basic labor competencies, mentoring and follow-on. Grupo INTUR would like to host a formal signing activity in May. More details will be forthcoming.

Challenges

• Due to internal challenges at INFOP, including their labor agreement with the union, it is difficult for the institutionalization changes to be mandated from the organization’s leadership. Instead, Empleando Futuros must promote these news tools with the instructors and other technical staff, with the expectation that they will voluntarily integrate them into their classroom and workshop activities. Those most interested will then be chosen for in-depth training on how to use the materials.

• INFOP instructors lack sufficient training material and supplies that will enable them to make good use of interactive-training methodologies in their classrooms. During the training sessions, it is common for the instructors to request support for pens, markers, and other basic training equipment.

• Coordination with INFOP senior staff is difficult due to consistently changing schedules and requirements to participate in high-level events.

• Coordination with Euro+Labor for the Job Prospecting Office has also been challenging due to shifting schedules and priorities within their organization.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 21

2.2.3 RESULT 3

Major activities for R3 concluded in FY19 due to the funding hold. Follow-on responsibility was transferred to two implementing partners as their contracts expired, while project staff continue to make periodic calls and visits to beneficiaries in coordination with those organizations. The table below summarizes the key life of project statictics that are unchanged from the past reporting period.

Table 5: Summary Key Training Statistics1

Youth Participants in Training 113

Youth Formally Registered 93

Youth Completing Training 75

Youth Obtaining Employment 7

Youth Starting Entrepreneurships 43

Youth Returning to Formal Education 3

Municipalities Served Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula

Percentage of Male/Female Participants 18% Female, 82% Male

Percentage of Primary/Secondary/Tertiary

Prevention

26% Primary, 13% Secondary, 61% Tertiary

Highlights of the limited R3 activities for the quarter are described below.

Entrepreneurship Certification

On January 30, seven leaders of the barras bravas received their certificates for completing the

CENET training as entrepreneurship facilitators. The ceremony took place at the Empleando

Futuros office with participation from CENET, USAID and the project staff. The barra leaders spoke about the pride they have in the accomplishments of the youth as entrepreneurs and about how they are maturing as individuals.

Follow-on Calls

During February, project staff called 34 R3 beneficiaries managing 27 small businesses started.

Of the 34 youth, all expressed that they were in good health and there were no reports of

1 These are life of project statistics. No changes from FY19 annual report.

Result 3

At least 400 youth identified as in need of tertiary prevention services will have received services leading to improved rates of legal income generation; and, There will be increased evidence and knowledge about effective strategies in providing comprehensive workforce development services to youth in conflict with the law and/or ex-gang members.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 22 recidivism. However, there were reports of some youth continuing to struggle with abuse of alcohol, sickness within their families and economic struggles. Of the 27 businesses, at the time

25 were functioning. Of those, four were considered to be functioning well or expanding, 17 were stable, and another four were struggling. Of the two businesses that closed, one was for security reasons and the other due to the owner migrating outside of Honduras.

Visits to Youth and their Businesses

During the first week of March, project staff met with the leaders of Orphan Helpers, Ultra Fiel and Los Revolucionarios to establish a calendar of joint visits to the youth. It is important to note that these visits by staff can only be accomplished through this level of coordination due to the safety concerns surrounding the youth. It is only possible to visit them in their communities with the presence of a known program leader. Four visits were completed during the second week of March, but all others had to be postponed due the pandemic restrictions.

COVID-19 Impacts Update

During the lockdown, staff has continued to conduct follow-on calls with the leaders of the groups.

As of March 31, of the 25 businesses functioning before the crisis, only three of them report maintaining as least 25% of their previous economic activity level. Two of the barber shops are working but taking precautions and making home visits to maintain clients. A beneficiary in one of those barber shops was hired by BANASUPRO, a Honduran government organization, where he is now distributing food to needy families. The third beneficiary has been able to keep his business alive by transitioning his sales from nuts and candy to now selling masks and vegetables during the one day per week he is allowed to circulate.

As the crisis continues and the beneficiaries deplete whatever resources they had, the group leaders are reporting increased concern for the youth. Some are being supported by their families while others have had to take to the streets to ask for food. Fortunately, there are no reports of recidivism.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 23

3. COLLABORATION AND

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

3.1 LINKAGES WITH OTHER USAID ACTIVITIES

Empleando Futuros cooperates with other USAID activities in three key areas: projects within the

USAID Education Development Office; other WFD projects and organizations; and projects that are part of the mission’s DO1. Examples of collaboration in FY20 Q2 include:

• Empleando Futuros participated in USAID’s Education Development Office behavioral change and communications campaign conducted in conjunction with the

Ministry of Education and the USAID projects: From Readers to Leaders; School

Violence Prevention Program; and Honduras Reading Project. The campaign is called

“Te Queremos Estudiando” (We Want You Studying) and is designed to promote youth and children to register for school and stay in school. Empleando Futuros contributed by producing materials that show the importance of education to finding decent employment.

• Project staff participated in six place-based strategy meetings and contributed to

USAID’s “traffic light” exercise by providing safety information about the communities of interaction.

• On February 6, Empleando Futuros organized a site visit for USAID Deputy Assistant

Administrator Albert Bullock and Chief Information Officer Jay Mahanand to interact with beneficiaries, staff and members of the private sector. The meeting took place at

Rosette Bakery and Café where a beneficiary works as a barista. The delegation met three Empleando Futuros beneficiaries, two private sector representatives (from

Rosette and the retail store Miniso) along with USAID and Empleando Futuros staff.

The one-hour visit featured a brief project overview followed by time for questions and answers between the delegation, the beneficiaries and the private sector representatives.

USAID Washington representatives meet with beneficiaries and employers.

• On February 20, three aides to the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign

Affairs met with two business leaders, six Empleando Futuros beneficiaries, plus USAID and project staff. The business leaders were from large retailers Diunsa and Grupo Monje

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 24 while the six beneficiaries included two each from the same businesses and two from the coffee shop chain, Cafetano, where the meeting was held. The meeting was important as it provided an opportunity for the youth to tell their personal stories of life in the communities, how they encountered the program, the value they obtained from it, and how they earned their jobs. One participant told the group how the gang in his community had forced his family to use their home to hide from the police and other gangs, as well as to hide drugs and guns. He also talked about how a neighbor, who works as a “coyote”, had repeatedly offered to transport him to the US border for a reduced fee, and how thanks to his job now, he no longer feels the pressure to migrate. The visit also allowed us to demonstrate how the project engages and leverages private sector support. Diunsa and

Monje have both implemented “customized-training” programs with Empleando Futuros with high levels of job insertion. They also commented on the challenge of convincing others within their companies to hire at-risk youth but that now the business values these youth. All of youth and business leaders encouraged the congressional aides to continue supporting the project in the future.

3.2 COLLABORATION AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING WITH

PARTNER ENTITIES IN HOST GOVERNMENT AND OTHER

DONOR AGENCIES

These activities are outlined in the Section 2.2.2 Result 2 as part of the work with INFOP and the national WFD system.

3.3 COLLABORATION CHALLENGES

The typical collaboration challenges have not changed dramatically during the quarter. It is always difficult to adapt to different timelines and priorities of the collaborating organizations. Perhaps instead of a challenge, staff have noted an increased interest in collaborating around the above mentioned 17 transference tools and methods. Once these tools were presented in a catalogue and explained in a number of meetings and workshops with other groups, interest in collaboration increased. The other groups not only recognized the quality and value of the tools but appreciate

Empleando Futuros willingness to allow them to adapt the tools to their needs and target audiences.

As part of USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance, this is an important lesson is making resources available in ways that can be adapted and used by others, including other donor organizations.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 25

4. INTEGRATION OF

CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES

4.1 GENDER AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

Due to the funding hold, Banyan Global was unable to replace the gender and social inclusion specialist who resigned in mid-2019 for personal reasons. Nonetheless, all gender and social inclusion lessons learned and tools for implementers continue to be used. Staff also continue to identify and provide support to those youth who may need special help in the job search process because of a disability, their sexual orientation, or other cause of discrimination. As needed, the project also refers youth with emotional issues for professional counseling.

4.1.1 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN´S DAY

During March, Empleando Futuros celebrated International Women’s Day by highlighting the contributions of five women who are program beneficiaries or collaborators. Messages were shared on the Empleando Futuros and Banyan Global social media platforms with the

#GenerationEquality hashtag used around the world for International Women Day 2020. The messages were also shared by staff on their personal platforms. Examples of messages featuring

Empleando Futuros women are found below.

These posts reached more than 10,000 people from our social media (Facebook, Twitter and

Instagram), the post with more interactions and impressions was the one representing our collaborators from the private sector.

Examples of other published stories can be seen by clicking the following link:

https://issuu.com/empleandofuturos/docs/march_08 https://issuu.com/empleandofuturos/docs/march_08

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two Report, January-March 2020 26

4.1.2 SPECIALIZED TRAINING FOR FEMALE FORKLIFT OPERATORS

Empleando Futuros developed a specialized forklift operator training activity for 13 female beneficiaries. The activity was done to respond to an opportunity with beverage company, Cerveceria Hondureña, as part of their efforts to diversify the workplace while meeting the need for jobs with specialized skills. Empleando Futuros has identified the group of 13 beneficiaries that meet the entry profile required by the company. Following an orientation by Empleando

Futuros, the women are now completing a free online forklift operator training program provided by the Carlos Slim Foundation. Cerveceria Hondureña will review the candidates and then decide which ones they plan to hire. Those chosen will be provided with hands-on forklift training by the company.

Hiring decisions were not completed before the COVID-19 crisis began, and the process is in a temporary pause.

4.1.3 SPECIAL SUPPORT FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

Ten youth with disabilities participated in a Walmart job fair on February 29th. Most of the jobs available were oriented to technical jobs exclusively for persons with disabilities. During April the company will follow up on this process.

Over the life of the project, Empleando Futuros has identified 19 beneficiaries with some type of special need or disability such as hydrocephalus, lipodystrophy, epilepsy, Asperger’s Syndrome, learning disabilities, and others. To date, eleven youth have been hired in different companies and governmental agencies, such as ACOSA, La Mundial, Código Verde, and health centers.

4.2 SAFETY AND SECURITY

Activities during this period focused on monitoring the different intervention zones, providing alerts for staff and responding to the COVID-19 crisis.

Country Level Issues

Honduras began 2020 with more public marches, protests, street blockades and transportation strikes. During January, hundreds of people took to the streets in Tegucigalpa, including near the project office location, to protest the Honduran government’s decision to not renew the charter for the Anti-Corruption and Impunity Support Mission. Fortunately, there was no reported violence.

Additionally, there were large scale protests in front of the Honduras Autonomous University.

At the start of March, there were large scale protests by taxi drivers against a plan to legalize unregistered taxi drivers that offer VIP or Uber type services. These protests caused major road blockage but no major violence. On March 2, the Empleando Futuros offices in both cities closed early to allow staff to get home before planned protests.

Over the course of the quarter, there were 17 community incidents of which only one involved a beneficiary, five alerts and five warnings issued to staff for their safety.

Empleando Futuros FY20 Quarter Two…