The journey to providing adequate education to the youth in Guatemala has been a tumultuous one. Vocational institutions especially lack the funding necessary to provide their students with a proper technical education. But, the salient jobs in this country, like agriculture and information technology, require solid technical foundations. So, it is clear that vocational education is becoming more prevalent than ever to its future generations. However, issues like nationwide poverty and internal political turmoil hinder the quality of these facilities. Here is more information about the state of vocational education training centers in Guatemala.

General Educational Barriers in Guatemala 

According to WorldData.Info, Guatemala has ranked 162nd out of 193 countries in the global education ranking. Only about half of students complete elementary school, and one-third finish secondary school. The issue of providing education to Guatemalan citizens stems from poverty across the country. Guatemala’s 36-year Civil War between 1960-1996 displaced hundreds of thousands of Indigenous people, which still negatively impacts their standard of living today. About 47.3% of Guatemalans live with a budget of around 64 quetzales, which in U.S. dollars, translates to about $8.30 a day.

As a result, many families in Guatemala are unable to afford sending their children to school. There is also a significant resource gap in classrooms; they are oftentimes overcrowded, or they lack teachers with the proper training necessary for instruction. These political and economic obstacles bleed into vocational schools, which prevent students from getting a good education.   

Vocational Education Training Centers in Guatemala 

Guatemalan technical institutions offer students high-demand skills learned in a wide range of subjects in culinary and pastry arts, agriculture, carpentry and computer science. The Ministry of Education stated many of them lacked proper equipment. Some schools, such as Junkabel and William Cornelius Training Center have excellent facilities. But the vast majority lack the budget, staff and infrastructure needed to run them.  

Luckily, there have been several efforts aimed at improving the quality of education at Guatemalan trade schools. Foreign aid organizations, like the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), fundraised $20.6 million for Education toward the Guatemala Threshold Program, $4.2 million of which went to technical education alone. Also, the CEPA Foundation, a nonprofit organization, has partnered with another nonprofit, Fundación Corazones Libres, in order to provide vocational education to young children in Vuelta Grande. These funds are used to create new vocational high schools with modernized computers that increase accessibility.

Another nonprofit, Infinite Chance, has funded enough money to buy welding and industrial sewing machines necessary for instruction. Besides nonprofits, affluent vocational institutions in Guatemala like INTECAP have offered vocational certifications and training to secondary students to help them gain specialized skills. 

The Future of Vocational Education Centers in Guatemala 

Although there is much left to be done to improve vocational education training centers in Guatemala, such as updating curricula to fit the rapidly advancing job market, many charities and nonprofits have organized initiatives to help repair the education system. For instance, the Swisscontact Project teamed up with the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare in Guatemala in 2023 to provide students with technical courses relevant to the IT and food sectors.

The primary goals of these projects is to reduce the need for migration in the Guatemalan workforce. Guatemala wants to decrease the levels of unemployment among Guatemalan youth by providing sufficient Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to students who wish to pursue a career in the skilled trades.

More than 90% of Guatemala’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from industry, service and agriculture jobs. By promoting vocational education centers in Guatemala, future generations can hope to earn a living through these technical careers and boost their domestic economy.

– Stacie Hueter

Stacie is based in Denville, NJ, USA and focuses on Technology and Solutions for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Unsplash