J.1.2_Final Report METAS Project - PDF.pdf

This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared for the USAID

Honduras Mission by Education Development Center, Inc., under contract # AID-522-LA-10-00001.

THE METAS PROJECT

Improving Education for Work, Learning, and Success

FINAL REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

Context

Project Results Result 1: Expansion of Opportunities to Improve Services for Socially At-Risk Youth

Objectives Activities Results Challenges and Lessons Learned

Result 2: Strengthening Alternative Education Programs (PAE) Objectives Activities Results Challenges and Lessons Learned

Result 3: Training and Certification in Basic Labor Competencies (BLCP) Objectives Activities Results Challenges and lessons learned

Result 4: Strategic Alliances That Generate Job Opportunities and Improve the

Employability of Youth Beneficiaries of the METAS Project Objectives Activities Results Challenges and Lessons Learned

Cross-Cutting Activities The Youth Council Gender Strategy Information and Communications

SGIMETAS

Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) and Indicators Table

Lessons Learned R1: Expansion of Opportunities to Improve Services for Socially At-Risk Youth R2: Strengthening Alternative Education Programs (PAE) R3: Training and Certification in Basic Labor Competencies R4: Strategic Alliances That Generate Job Opportunities and Improve Employability of

Youth Beneficiaries of the METAS Project Monitoring and Evaluation Participation of Youth

Recommendations

Administration and Finance Project Administration and Financial Management Budget Leverage

Appendices

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A L L I A N C E S W I T H T H E

P R I VAT E

S E C T O R

80,134

PROYECTO METAS

T O TA L B E N E F I C I A R I E S

9,360

SERVICES TO

YOUTH

G R A D U A T E S

SERVICES TO

YOUTH

11,647

B E N E F I C I A R I E S

55,000

BASIC LABOR

COMPETENCIES

B E N E F I C I A R I E S

BASIC LABOR

COMPETENCIES

17,552

C E R T I F I E D Y O U T H

FACILITATORS TRAINED

1, 239

EDUCATIONAL CENTERS

INTERNSHIPS

JOBS

2, 326

2, 368

METAS at a glance…

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Almost three fourths of the Honduran population is youth younger than 30 years old (and approximately 50% are less than 20 years old). An alarming percentage of these youth live in impoverished circumstances (60% of Honduran households live in poverty and 39% in extreme poverty).

Unemployment also continues to be high among youth. Of the total number of people who are unemployed in the country, 50.4% are less than 24 years old. Most of the unemployed only have a high school education1. According to data from 2010, only 27.6% of youth between 16 and 18 years old are in school. At the same time as the youth population continues to grow, the number of unemployed youth is expected to increase (currently 10% of youth between 14 and 30 years old do not formally study or work), and they do not having access to a quality high school and college education. Efforts focusing on youth education and employment needs are very much needed2.

In September 2010, USAID awarded the METAS Project (Mejorando la Educación para Trabajar, Aprender y Superarse, or Improving Education for Work, Learning, and Success) in Honduras to

Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). The objective of the METAS Project was to help Honduras, and especially Honduran youth, by providing them with the opportunity to acquire knowledge and skills for life and work, and with the attitudes, behaviors, and perspectives necessary to create positive and promising futures, as well as satisfy the private sector’s needs in hiring talent.

The project had two cost extensions in time and budget: the initial budget for Phase I was US

$10,585,000. For Phase II, an additional US $3,000,000 were added, and for Phase III, an additional US

$1,999,999 were added, for a total of US $15,584,999 for a period of six and a half years (September

2010-April 2017).

The project had four Strategies or Results in the first phase:

• Result 1 (R1): Services for At-Risk Youth

• Result 2 (R2): Alternative Secondary Education Programs

• Result R (R3): Training in Basic Labor Competencies and International Labor Preparation

Certification

• Result 4 (R4): Strategic Alliances

In its second phase of implementation, Result 2 was eliminated, and in the third phase, only two results were implemented, Result 3 and Result 4.

1 Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (2010). Proyecciones de Población de Honduras.

http://www.ine.gob.hn.

2 Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Honduras. Encuesta de Hogares del INE para mayo del 2011.

http://www.ine.gob.hn/

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For the implementation of these results and to reach the objectives and indicators during the three phases, the project took a systematic and comprehensive approach to provide unprecedented support to Honduran youth through education.

This focus generated a commitment from stakeholders and beneficiaries so that youth, facilitators, schools, universities, communities, companies, non-governmental development organizations (NGOs), foreign organizations, the government of Honduras (through the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Labor, the Youth Institute, and INFOP – the National Professional Training Institute), and local governments succeeded in coming together to close the current gap that exists in the training of talent that satisfies the needs of the Honduran labor market.

The project developed different activities that permitted sustainability under the four results, but special emphasis was given to Result 3. In Result 3, the Advisory Center for Human Resource Development

(CADERH) and the National Education Center for Labor (CENET), were strengthened by directly implementing the Basic Labor Competencies Program (BLCP) with the technical assistance of the

METAS Project. After several years of technical support and after an organizational capacity assessment, both institutions met the quality standards necessary for continuing the BLCP.

In addition to the above, the project developed its own methodologies, pedagogic materials, and monitoring and evaluation assessment tools for the development of the BLCP, the Habilidades para el

Exito Laboral Program (PHEL or “Skills for Successful Work Program”), the Bridging Strategies, and a gender strategy, which were adapted to the national context and needs. The project also developed its own Information Management System (known as SGIMETAS).

Throughout its implementation, the METAS Project has positively impacted the lives of 80,134 youth who participated in programs oriented to strengthening their skills and competencies for life and work, created 211 alliances with the private sector, trained 1,239 BLCP facilitators, and strengthened 200 education centers and vocational technical centers.

Sept.2014)

Result 1:

Youth Services

Result 2:

Alternative Education

Result 3:

Basic Labor Competencies

Result 4:

sector

Result 1:

Youth Services

Result 3:

Basic Labor Competencies

Result 4:

sector

Result 3:

Basic Labor Competencies

Result 4:

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CONTEXT

Since the 2000s, various initiatives by international organizations and civil society have been launched to improve the quality of life of youth due to the lack of educational and work opportunities in Honduras.

Their focus has been mainly the prevention of violence and the reduction of temporary employment available to youth. Although differing in approaches, they all promote values that encourage self-employment, reduce memberships in gangs, prevent migration, and create income-generating opportunities.

Despite the efforts and results of the initiatives, these programs and projects rarely focused on linking the development of values, abilities, and skills in youth to the private sector’s labor needs. Because of this, income generating opportunities continue to be scarce, minimally alleviating poverty within the communities. Once the programs and projects finish, few of the opportunities continue to exist.

Before the METAS project, the private sector had not focused on developing young talent as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. Because of METAS, many companies were able to identify opportunities and saw the benefits of working with trained, capable youth who lacked work experience, which had an effect on their line of business and contributed to reaching a greater strengthening of its CSR. This was possible thanks to the methodology designed for labor linkages, which allowed them to go beyond the CSR framework and thus companies to were able to identify a

"gain" or “win” from joining the METAS Project .

The METAS Project introduced an innovative approach in youth employability, by focusing on the certification of basic labor competencies and the development of skills for work. As a result, education could be aligned with the needs of the labor market by creating a strategic alliance with the private sector to provide internships and employment opportunities, thus developing the Bridging Strategies as defined in the Strategic Alliances component.

The principal sectors where employment is concentrated are agriculture with 28.5%, commerce with

20.7%, and manufacturing with 14.8%. These three together account for 64% of employment in

Honduras.3 According to the July 2016 Economic Activity Monthly Index, however, productive development shows signs of stagnation, mainly in the commercial sector, which has limited the generation of employment.

In addition, the private sector considers the following:

“the Honduran education system presents weaknesses in preparing most youth for jobs that require modern competencies and skills. Likewise, it states that the low level of high school education does not produce youth sufficiently capable of assuming the private sector’s labor

3 State of the Nation Program, 2016.

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needs; and in the case of the college graduates, the businessmen said they had unrealistic expectations regarding salary, job functions, and work load, as a result of which they choose to hire youth with high school diplomas who show they have good job skills.”4

In a labor diagnostic performed by the Central American Technological University (UNITEC) in 2014, the findings show that 63% of the private sector has problems finding talent due to the lack of technical and analytical competencies, the lack soft skills and experience, overqualified candidates, and the bad attitudes of candidates in the areas of customer service, logistics, sales, graphic design, office support, financial areas, administrative areas, and management positions.

The same study states:

“six soft skills that companies require were identified: ethics, values, teamwork, social skills, leadership, and critical thinking. These skills have taken on great importance and value for companies, since they are the skills that employees have on the emotional and interpersonal side of things. The analytical skills of greatest importance required by the companies were information technology and information gathering, then reading comprehension and applied mathematics.”

The Honduran Private Enterprise Council (COHEP) pointed out that the Honduran economy continued to lag because the education and training system is not linked to the needs of businesses. It suggests that the education curriculum be revised to teach information technologies and that short extracurricular labor training programs be developed. Along these lines, COHEP and METAS conducted a study to find out the knowledge and skills that people must have when entering the labor market for the first time according to the business sector. The study found that more preparation was needed because of the deficiency in their basic and applied skills training and that “according to the surveyed business sector, most youth are not prepared for success in the workplace.” Another limitation revealed by this study for youth entering the labor market was related to recruitment. since 67.7% of the private sector hires through recommendations, 53.9% do it by word of mouth, 56.9% do it through newspaper advertising, and 46.7% through job boards. “That has significant implications for youth looking for a job for the first time, since those youth without connections will have more difficulty finding employment.”

In general, the lack of soft skills and on-the-job training became a limitation for the country’s productive development.

4 Sistematización Alianzas Estratégicas Proyecto METAS, 2016.

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PROJECT RESULTS

Below is a timeline of the project’s results areas described according to their implementation phase, developed activities, and main effects. The chart shows the project’s phases and the results that were the focus of each phase.

RESULT 1: EXPANSION OF OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE SERVICES FOR SOCIALLY AT-

RISK YOUTH

OBJECTIVES

The objective of Result 1 in Phase I and II consisted of providing support services oriented toward developing and strengthening employability and social and life skills for socially at-risk youth. Non-governmental development organizations (NGO) were provided with funding, support, and technical assistance for strengthening of their institutional capabilities by METAS. This helped program related activities for youth, promoted good institutional performance, and/or increased sustainability.

ACTIVITIES

Support for Socially At-Risk Youth

During Phase I (2010-2014), the METAS Project invited qualified NGOS to submit applications for a competitive grants opportunity. METAS provided subgrants with funds from USAID to 12 national and development NGOs in order to provide innovative and pertinent support services to 8,000 socially at-risk youth coming from close to 100 neighborhoods and subdivisions of the country’s principal cities in the form of different service offerings (training in values, P 1 P 2 P 3

2011 - 2014 2016 2015

12 Phase I Organizations

• UNITEC

• Children International

• Commission of Social Mennonite Actions

(CASM)

• FOPRIDEH

• CIPE Consultants

• RETE

• Free Expression Association

• ANED Foundation

• Human Development Center (CDH)

• Christian Development Commission

(CCD)

• Honduran Red Cross- La Ceiba Branch

• Art-Action Association

5 Phase II Organizations

• RETE

• Children International

• UNITEC

• Human Development Center (CDH)

• Honduran Red Cross

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leadership, and vocational training).

In order to meet the proposed objectives contained in the Program Description of Phase II, the METAS

Project was asked to select the best organizations from Phase I so the project could continue working with them. An analysis of the capabilities and the performance of the twelve (12) development NGO partners from Phase I was performed, which looked at technical, administrative and accounting capabilities. In the end, five (5) of these organizations, Rete, Children International, UNITEC, the Center for Human Development, and the Honduran Red Cross, met the criteria and conditions for this next phase of work.

During Phase II (2015), the METAS Project awarded grants to five development NGOs to implement comprehensive training programs for 2,000 youth who live in socially at-risk conditions. These trainings consisted of developing knowledge, skills and aptitudes, vocational technical training, teamwork, building self-esteem and values, as well as income generation through self-employment. The focus in this second stage was to work with youth who did not study or work, otherwise known as “NiNis”. There was success in reaching this population, which had scarce opportunities and/or limited academic training.

Institutional Strengthening for the Partner Organizations

During Phase I, the Institutional Strengthening Strategy was implemented based on a Community of

Learning where all of the participating organizations became important actors in each of the actions. An open, active, and horizontal methodology was employed involving all the key members of each of the organizations. This methodology allowed them to share their accumulated experiences, shared knowledge, and use of similar tools in a shared environments to strengthen their abilities to perform in this area.

An Institutional Assessment was performed using the OCA Tool (Organizational Capacity Assessment

Tool). These first steps permitted the leveling of the playing field with respect to the organization’s technical, financial, M&E, and communication frameworks and guidelines (through orientation workshops) and to identify the main areas that each organization needed to be strengthened both individually and as a group. The areas in need of strengthening were analyzed and prioritized together with the organizations in order to develop an Institutional Strengthening Plan, which in turn was refined with the input of each organization. These first steps of orientation and identifying institutional strengthening needs involved training where different members of each organization (management, technical and financial) had opportunities to reflect, self-assess, prioritize, and suggest methods of strengthening. The strengthening for the organizations started at the beginning of the grant with continuous support in technical, financial, and M&E areas as defined by the Strengthening Plan.

This Community of Learning consisted of a combination of 3 lines of action:

1. Continuous support, guidance and advising for the organizations: Continuous support was provided on technical, financial, and monitoring and evaluation topics throughout each organization’s implementation period and as part of the grant mechanism.

2. Direct and focused activities: Orientation and midterm evaluation events and workshops were organized, as well as topical workshops on:

• Monitoring and Evaluation

• Human Resources

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• Professional Project Administration

• Communication and Technology Tools

• Photography as a Social Expression

• Onboarding Methodology: Recruitment and Follow-Up

3. Development of a Virtual Learning Platform: This platform contained topics addressed in the topic-focused events and workshops and serves as a reminder and resource for the organizations in the future and remains available and accessible after the project.

In order to more objectively understand the youth population profile METAS works with, the DAP

(Development Assets Profile) tool5 developed by the Search Institute was applied and successfully used in several countries for multiple purposes.

In the particular case of Honduras, the METAS Project applied the DAP tool to youth (men and women) between the ages of 12 to 30 years old, who were beneficiaries of the support service offerings through partner NGOs, and to students in alternative secondary education programs. The purpose of the tool is to assess the profile of strengths youth possess and determine support needed. Results were used to reflect the effect of the support service (methodological and curricular) offerings and make the pertinent adjustments. The DAP tool’s results show the youth’s profile by context (individual, family, community, school, and social) and by category of items or assets grouped into external factors (support, empowerment, expectations and limits, constructive use of time) and internal factors (commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity).

The results showed that the levels of fundamental development assets or items of these youth populations were satisfactory. When it came to the contexts, however, they showed that weaknesses existed on the community level. When it came to category of items or assets (external and internal), the results showed that the youth beneficiaries of development partner NGOs reported that support, empowerment, and positive values were not at strong as others.

These DAP results suggested that both the development NGOs and the Alternative Education Programs had to introduce changes or adjustments in their service offerings (focus, strategies, methodologies, content, etc.) in order to elevate their profile in general. In addition, they had to improve those aspects that were shown to be lower than the rest - community context, support and empowerment in the external category, and positive values and social competencies at the internal category level.

Strengthening Process in Phase II

In the second phase, the organizational capacity measurement tool (OCA) was applied again to the five grantee organizations under Result 1. In Phase II, the OCA measured organizational capacity under the following four topics: Administration and Finances, Monitoring and Evaluation, Gender, and Connection to the Labor Market. The collected data was analyzed and used to design the Institutional Strengthening

5 http://www.search-institute.org/surveys/DAP http://www.search-institute.org/surveys/DAP

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Plan for these organizations. Their strengths and weaknesses in their organizational capacity are described below:

Strengths:

• The greatest strength among the organizations is Administration and Finance. They obtained the highest score (an average of 3.6 on a scale of 0-5) which reflects a moderate to high capacity for all the development NGOs. All the organizations had written administrative and financial policies and procedures, with the exception of one, and all had developed experience in financial reporting in accordance with the donors’ different requirements. Monitoring and Evaluation is the area with the second highest score (an average of 3.5 - moderate to high capacity). All the organizations reported having good practical dissemination when sharing results and updates with their counterparts (partners, donors, and beneficiaries). Almost all of them had experience in data collection and record systems with moderate to high capacity (score between 3-4).

These formats ensured the reliability of the youth’s information and avoided double counting and the loss of information.

• On the topic of Gender (3.3 score, moderate capacity), all the organizations included general values related to the incorporation of gender in training workshops. In four of the five organizations, the facilitators had access to material related to how to prevent pregnancies in adolescents, sexual reproductive health, and the prevention of domestic violence. Subsequently, all the organizations had been implementing best practices in order to promote fair recruitment and retention of youth. For example, they used different communication channels to advertise workshops and had flexible schedules and facilities for single mothers with children as strategies to retain youth interest in attending workshops.

Weaknesses:

• Connection to the labor markets has the lowest score (an average of 2.8) representing a capacity of basic to moderate. Mentoring is the subtopic with the greatest difficulty due to the lack of a systematic guide for conducting follow-up during and after the program.

• In the case of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), only certain topics needed support. Even when the organizations had indicators for projects and an M&E work plan complete with dates for data collection and reporting deadlines, there was a lack of knowledge of what information to collect, who would collect it, and what the sources of information would be.

Considering the results of the application of this OCA tool, the organizational capacity improvement recommendations were identified as:

• Provide advice on how to create an employability strategy that connects the different activities the organizations are implementing.

• Provide training in the best practices of tracking and mentoring during and after the youth finish the training.

• Provide training on how to create and implement alliances with the private sector.

• Provide curricular development in life skills for organizations that do not have it.

• Train organizational personnel in the analysis of gender in each aspect of the project

(enrollment, retention, and satisfaction).

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• Provide training on how to create an M&E plan which can be used in future interventions.

• Provide training on how to carry out a technical assistance on information quality with local partners.

• Provide individualized technical assistance in the area of administration, finance, and monitoring and evaluation.

• Develop the topic of project evaluation, based on the experiences of each development NGO.

• Use the platform NGO Learns as a mechanism for involving organizations and as an assessment tool at the end of each workshop.

In the second phase, the following workshops were held in order to improve the knowledge of the personnel in each organization based on the needs identified through the OCA:

• Orientation Workshop for Subgrantee Organizations

• OCA Instrument Application Beginning and End Workshop

• Communications Workshop

• Workshop on the use of the METAS Information Management System Platform (SGIMETAS)

• Life Skills Workshop

• Workshop on the Incorporation of Gender in Projects

Support and Technical Assistance for the Implementation of Activities by the Development

NGOs

The aim of this activity was to have continuous involvement in the training process, review of methodologies and services, budgetary management, and assessment of statistics, among others. It was especially important to assess the quality of services and their NGO’s fulfillment of program offerings.

The METAS Project, through participatory methods, carried out support and technical assistance activities throughout both phases of the project for each of the subgrantee organization. Activities ranged from the annual operational plan based on results, to the implementation and evaluation of said plans and budget. Continuity was built into the process and included:

• Quarterly Meetings: Based on the results obtained in the previous quarter of reporting, evaluations were performed on the achievement of stated goals and budgetary execution, and then adjustments and improvements were proposed.

• Follow-Up Visits: Meetings and field visits were scheduled with key personnel of each organization to discuss priorities and progress based on findings. The visits sought to understand their scope, generate reflections on the methodology, and propose potential improvements in their services.

• Closing Reflection Workshop: The METAS personnel held a workshop with technical and management personnel of the executing partner organizations to facilitate group reflection on the execution, compliance, and lessons learned in each one of their projects. Topics discussed throughout the day included the results themselves, principal limitations, pertinence of the program activities, methodologies, and lessons learned, among others.

During the grant period, the work teams of the partner organizations showed their receptiveness to the technical assistance and support provided by METAS. They rescheduled activities and resources and added supplemental activities to youth training and work placement as a way to lock in the best results.

As a result, they saw growth in their own learning and became more proactive in achieving results; this

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was reflected in the satisfactory fulfillment of programmed goals and the sustainability of benefits for the youth populations they addressed. It is worth emphasizing that these positive results were due to the persistence and creativity of the development NGOs so youth could complete their training programs.

Service Offerings of the Different NGOs

The selected development NGOs used their own methodologies to advertise, recruit, and select socially at-risk youth of the communities established by USAID. Each partner organization defined their own service offerings and training times. The capacity and previous experience that each one of them had developed serving youth in vulnerable situations was also considered.

During the analysis of information for Phase II, there were 28 courses offered with varying delivery times. Groups of beneficiaries received intensive periods of training by some organizations (UNITEC and Children International – Association Friend of the Children Program) in order to successfully reach their goals for trained youth. The largest training offering delivered was in beauty and cosmetology developed by RETE, CDH and CRH, the second largest offering was customer service delivered by

UNITEC, and the third largest offering was the manufacturing of costume jewelry delivered by RETE and

Children International. Gender stereotypes were a factor both in the course offerings from the organization and the courses the beneficiaries chose.

Impact at the Youth Level

Although interventions were varied, the following changes and results on the impact on youth were commonly found across most of the organizations (if not in all). The impacts generated were:

• The youth have the tools at their disposal for their life’s work, generating a change in attitude and more opportunities to be a part of the actively productive population as they entered the job market. This also helps prevent youth from contacting or joining criminal organizations or gangs, consuming drugs, or being unemployed. These youth now have the opportunity to be involved in their new interests, aspirations, and occupations.

• The training in life skills fostered leadership in youth participants, as well as positive changes in attitude.

Enrolled Beneficiaries by Training Offering

Women Men

Beauty and

Cosmetology

Specialization in

Customer Service and Sales

Costume Jewelry Specialization in

Information

Technology

Baking and

Confectionery

Barber

Training

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• Those empowered youth shared what they had learned with other youth from neighboring communities; the youth replicated their learning with others.

• Community leaders and youth facilitators provided unconditional support to youth, which helped maintain the sustainability of the training’s desired outcomes.

Figure 1: Young man studying mechanics.

RESULTS

Given the variety and diversity of the interventions in this program, noteworthy results were:

• The grants permitted recipient organizations to create, improve, and expand their programs by putting into practice strategic learning activities and developing new methodologies to increase impact and focus. Additionally, the subgrantee organizations were subject to an organizational capacity strengthening process in order to guarantee the sustainability of their programs.

• Organizational strengthening consolidated the positioning of these organizations on topics such as violence prevention, employability, and at-risk youth training, among others.

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• Development NGOs had the opportunity to take part in and access other opportunities in similar topics through networking with other subgrantee development NGOs, donors and implementing organizations.

• UNITEC received support for the service offering based on the diagnostic performed in 2014 and for being responsive to the needs of the private sector. According to the information from

SGIMETAS, UNITEC was best able to connect youth from Result 1 to the most internships and employment after those youth beneficiaries from Result 3.

• A Gender Workshop was developed for the technical and leadership personnel of the development NGOs so project designs and outreach to target populations would be done with a gender-based focus.

• There was a positive response to the different offerings from the partner organizations, with the largest response being from women. This allowed the organizations to address the restrictions in their mobility (transportation) and challenges in searching for employment and training opportunities with greater fairness.

• The organizations benefitted from institutional learning, especially in the strengthening of monitoring and evaluation, administration and finances, professional project administration, and life skills. This process has guaranteed reaching the goals established at the technical and contractual level and fostered new lines of external cooperation.

CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED

• Involving parents of the youth in training activities could have resulted in making these training processes more comprehensive by helping reduce the dropout rate of youth generating more interest in these training programs.

• To encourage more active participation of youth, we recommend an inclusive recruitment strategy in each community where there is an active presence of recruiting and training organizations.

• The lack of sufficient resources and infrastructure conditions in the training centers were evident, such as training rooms, workshops, machines, and/or tools. In addition, trained and certified facilitators can lead to a higher quality standard quality of training.

• Ensure that organizations strengthened in the design of training curricula can meet the needs of the labor market so that youth are better able to compete when looking for a job or starting their own business.

RESULT 2: STRENGTHENING ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS (PAE)

OBJECTIVES

Result 2 sought to implement the youth and adult education modality through the Alternative Education

Programs (PAE). It created an opportunity to attend to the youth and young adult population confronting the challenges of continuing their studies due to work, family commitments, or because of poverty and/or high incidences of violence in their environments. This result also sought to strengthen communities by training volunteer facilitators to provide services in alternative education programs and supplying them with tools and technical assistance for providing these services. This helped promote volunteer work oriented to education management and also involved the communities to prevent

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violence by working together with youth, adults, and organizations. Finally, this result also sought to strengthen the Secretary of Education through the strengthening of the Alternative Education Programs.

ACTIVITIES

Methodology and Implementation: Improving Access to Youth and Adult Education and

Generating Opportunities from the Communities

This result started with the identification of the Alternative Education Programs (PAE) in the communities, which started with a research study based on the PAE inventory created by the MIDEH2

Project through the evaluation of the Basic Education by Television Program (TELEBASICA) and the report “Alternative High School Education in Honduras” (from 2010).

Figure 2 Student from Alternative Education Program

Contact was also established with representatives of the Honduran Radio Education Institute (IHER), Secondary Education Distance Education System (SEMED), and Education for All (EDUCATODOS) to learn the lines of work and the work methodology.

For the implementation of this result, which was designed to be community and education focused, the

METAS Project conducted a diagnostic where it established that no community associations or structures with an educational focus existed. Although other structures like water councils and boards of trustees existed, they did not have experience in educational matters. For this reason, the Education

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Management Committees (Comités de Gestión Educativa in Spanish, or “CGE”) were formed in educational centers.

The installation of the CGE followed a systematic process which consisted of:

a) Community awareness and organization: This process sought to make people in the community aware of the importance of supporting and organizing the PAE in order to improve its operation, through strategic goals such as:

• Identification of key people in the community

• Visits to identified people

• Initial calls to the identified people

• Preparation and execution of the community meeting

• Community organization

b) Organization of the Education Management Committee: Encouraged the management skills among its members to improve the educational conditions in the PAE. In order to arrive at this organization, it was necessary to:

• Make the purpose of the CGE known

• Establish the CGE membership requirements

• Organize the PAE CGE

The METAS Project organized a total of 27 CGEs, distributed in the following geographic areas:

Chart No.1. Number of CGEs per city

Linking of Educational Communities with Violence Prevention Community Actions

The METAS Project, through interinstitutional coordination, facilitated the technical and financial support for a pilot of community actions focus on violence prevention in two communities to document replicable results. The following activities were included:

Ciudad

Tegucigalpa

La Ceiba

San Pedro Sula

City

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• Trainings for community leaders, facilitators, students, and committee members

• Baseline Survey

• Acquisition of educational material for the community onboarding

• Implementation of population awareness actions

• Development of awareness campaign

Use of Guide with Community Tools and Training for the Strengthening of Alternative Programs

In order to organize CGE management strategies, a one-day workshop was held to validate the

Community Management Tools. In total, 200 copies of this document were printed and used in the closing workshops. In addition, other trainings were held on other topics including: the 12 steps for the ideal committee, social auditing, self-esteem, certification in Basic Labor Competencies, volunteering, national identity, effective communication, leadership, Education Management Committee organization, participation in a forum directed to youth, interpersonal relationships, community awareness and organization, silk screen printing, materials recycling techniques, and techniques for working on murals.

Strengthening of the Education Management Committee’s Capacities

The purpose of the CGEs was to have all the competencies and skills necessary to factor in the interests and needs of the PAE in order to find solutions to their education problems when it came to equipment, furnishings, education trainings, and teacher trainings, among others.

In order to guarantee the sustainability of the PAE, one of the main activities was to strengthen the

CGEs through training processes oriented to their performance as active members in the CGE.

Competencies were created to help them reach the proposed objective of strengthening the PAE.

The following topics were developed:

• Creation of the SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) for the PAE

• Mobilization of resources

• Creation of project micro-profiles

• Institutional strengthening

• Various meetings related to the design of the SWOT, project micro-profiles action and design/execution plans

• Identification of training needs

• Closing activity: Community Management Committee Strengthening

• Validation of the Tool Guide for Community Management

The development of the SWOT helped identify areas where training was needed and resulted in a closing workshop called “Strengthening of Community Management Committees” geared towards all committee members located in the three implementing cities. Some of the topics addressed were the importance of community management, the identification of future actions, independent leadership actions, the strengthening of capacities to manage resources for the benefit of the PAE and the community, conflict resolution, experiences of success, and action plan tracking.

Training for Alternative Education Program Facilitators, Tutors, and Teachers

A participatory diagnostic was used at the beginning of the project to determine the type of training that would be given to PAE Facilitators. Through the joint analysis between the Secretary of Education, the

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PAE, and METAS, a certificate course in “Social Competencies and Methodologies for the Facilitation of

Learning Processes” was designed and created. The certificate course lasted 6 months in duration (4 modules), for a total of 210 hours of instruction (64 contact and 146 non-contact).

The certificate course was designed with the support of CENET (through an agreement) which sought to improve the quality of the PAE’s education services, including certification in basic labor competencies for PAE facilitators. After the certificate course was approved, the facilitators received two certificates, one from the CREFAL Institution (Mexico) which recognizes the passing of the academic course load, and the other from the ACT® (United States) which recognizes the individual’s certification in the Basic Labor Competencies exam.

The list of course modules in the certificate course include:

• Module I: Leadership and Social Communication

• Module II: The Youth’s Socio-Educational Context, Prevention Strategies, and Approaches

• Module III: Best Teaching Practices for the Attainment of Significant Life Lessons

• Module IV: Certification in Basic Labor Competencies

This certificate course was provided in three different versions throughout the life of the project in the cities of Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba.

At the beginning of 2013, the PAE facilitators systematically gained more information on the profile of their students through the DAP survey (Development Assets Profile). The DAP reflected the pedagogical approach (teaching techniques and methodologies) that facilitators must offer to PAE students based on the fact that they possessed a high commitment to studying. In total, 414 youth participated in this survey and contributed to 107 facilitators and community members gaining more knowledge from this profile.

In addition, the PAE facilitators were beneficiaries of teaching materials for teaching classes within the

PAE. They also participated in other training courses for students and other community members.

Likewise in 2013, over 300 PAE facilitators participated in the First Meeting of National Facilitators of

Alternative Programs, an exchange between facilitators from the three cities to share experiences and lessons learned in their profession.

Management of Supplemental Opportunities for Students

METAS worked with the Alternative Education Programs in EDUCATODOS (Education for All), IHER

(Honduran Radio Education Institute), and SEMED (Secondary Education Distance Education System) in the cities of Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and La Ceiba.

Data on the enrollment in and graduation from PAEs was registered to identify the project’s beneficiaries. Both direct and indirect beneficiaries were identified. The direct beneficiaries are those students who directly participated in activities coordinated by the project, such as the facilitators trained through the certificate course, workshops and meetings, as well as people trained as members of the

Education Management Committees. The indirect beneficiaries were students who benefited from the donation of school equipment/furnishings or were part of the learning processes and teachers whose capacities and skills were strengthened.

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The youth were trained in various topics including working together for at-risk youth, building self esteem, commitment to work, teamwork, vocational workshops, and various cultural, artistic (my art), and sports activities. In 2013, a campaign was conducted on oral hygiene and health through implementing partner FUASIF (Friends without Borders Foundation) benefiting 800 youth and 2000 more youth in a drug prevention campaign.

Technical Assistance to the Secretary of Education to Support the Alternative Secondary

Education Program

One of the priorities identified in this result area was the creation of a policy to regulate the PAEs. In

2012, a preliminary version of the regulation was drafted and later validated by the project and representatives of the Secretary of the Education. Subsequently, the preliminary version was ratified and went through another modification process within the framework of the Fundamental Education Law which had been approved at the end of 2012. This version was sent to the Attorney General’s office for review among the authorities.

Highlights from Result 2 include the following:

• The METAS Project worked with three existing alternative education programs: Education for

All (EDUCATODOS), the Honduran Radio Education Institute (IHER), and the Secondary

Education Distance Education System (SEMED), all of which offer different teaching techniques.

• Activities were implemented in 31 communities in the cities of Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Choloma, and La Ceiba, in order to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of education services for youth and young adults in vulnerable communities.

• Management and training of 27 Education Management Committees (known as CGEs in Spanish

– “Comités de Gestión Educativa”) in the intervention communities, made up of community stakeholders such as facilitators, students, teachers, parents, boards of trustees, churches, focus centers, schools, and local institution, government and organization members and others.

• 192 community facilitators were trained to contribute to the continuous improvement of the youth and adult education programs.

• 9,887 youth participated in this alternative education program.

• Three agreements were established with the Secretary of Education in order to improve the access, quality, and sustainability of the programs in the intervention communities.

• The formation of community structures like the Education Management Committees (CGE), will allow the Secretary of Education to have education management structures as support for the

Alternative Education Programs.

• The CGE can observe the quality of the education provided by the PAE, thereby allowing youth to take advantage of these alternative education opportunities.

• CGEs formed by adults and members of the community worked in a more systematic, organized, and consistent manner than those CGEs formed by PAE students.

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• The training for PAE facilitators was strengthened through the certificate course in Social

Competencies and Methodologies; however those trained facilitators did not necessarily continue being part of teaching corps within the PAE.

CHALLENGES AND LESSONS LEARNED

• It is pertinent to update the list of local leaders interested in improving educational conditions and community conditions in general.

• To avoid misconceptions or misunderstandings, the project should have oriented other organized community groups on the effects of the CGE and involve them in the implementation of joint activities.

• Identifying the development NGOs that were present or near the community and involve them as implementing partners can help the project achieve sustainability of the successful processes.

• These types of projects should implement comprehensive strategies for the alternative education program population that factor in topics like internal motivation and the strengthening of abilities and skills through the offering of extracurricular activities that facilitate access to new opportunities.

• Local human resources exist with social awareness and disposition for community work that deserve training, incentives, and recognition in order to maintain their motivation for volunteering and to improve the sustainability and quality of the offering of alternative programs.

• The PAEs have an agenda of common priorities and needs, but each one works in an isolated manner for achieving it. Conducting meetings to analyze needs and solutions as well as to coordinate group work can help overcome challenges and improve coordination with the

Secretary of Education.

• The District Education Offices can better strengthen the PAEs by sharing and reinforcing success stories on coordinated work and program support in order to replicate best practices.

RESULT 3: TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION IN BASIC LABOR COMPETENCIES (BLCP)

OBJECTIVES

Result 3 provided training services and certification in Basic Labor Competencies to youth categorized as socially at-risk through a sustainable model so beneficiaries could respond more effectively to the needs of private sector employers. The principal objectives of this result were:

• Training services for 32,600 youth to improve their Basic Labor Competencies in three areas:

Applied Mathematics, Information Analysis, and Reading Comprehension.

• An International Certification in Professional Preparation, or its equivalent, for 16,854 youth, demonstrating that those who obtained the certification have reached a minimum level of labor competencies in the areas of Applied Mathematics, Information Analysis, and Reading

Comprehension.

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• Training for 425 secondary education center teachers, qualifying them to use and implement the

BLCP.

• Complete the transfer of the sustainable administration of the Training and Certification in Basic

Labor Competencies Program to an institution of a public nature and another of a private nature.

Program Design

The METAS Project based its intervention methodological framework on the KeyTrain (a system for evaluating basic job skills) and WorkKeys systems which are implemented the American College Test6 company (ACT).