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Guatemala

Strategies for youth employment

Strategies for youth employment
Yes

Youth employment strategy planned in the next 2 years

Discussions within the government
Yes
Consultations with national-level stakeholders (e.g. employers’ and workers’ associations, youth councils, etc.)
Yes
A draft strategy already exists
Yes
Other (please specify)
No

Countries with national action plans for youth employment

Monitoring framework (timeline and activity/outcome indicators, e.g. youth labour market indicators)
Yes
Funding (indicative budget to implement the plan)
Yes
Institutional responsibilities (e.g. ministries/agencies in charge of specific planned activities )
Yes
Other, specify
No

Public funding for the national youth employment strategy

Public funding for the national youth employment strategy
Yes

Additional information:
The General Directorate of Employment, under the Vice-Ministry of Social Welfare and Employment (MINTRAB), oversees several key programmes to promote youth employment: • Technical Training for Employment Programme • My First Job Scholarship Programme, which supports young people aged 18 to 24 in gaining work experience through employment scholarships • National Programme of Workshop Schools and Employment Workshops In addition, the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), through the General Directorate of Educational Expansion (DIGEEX), allocates resources for the implementation of various initiatives supporting vocational training and youth employability.

Youth in the national development / employment strategy

Youth in the national development / employment strategy
Yes

Additional information:
Guatemala includes young people as a priority group in several national development and employment policy frameworks: • The National Policy for Decent Employment 2017–2032, particularly Axis 1 on Employment Generation • The National Youth Policy • The K’atun 2032 National Development Plan • The National Youth Plan "Guatemala Joven" • The National Permanent Programme for Labour Market Inclusion (PNETTE), established under Ministerial Agreement No. 220-2015 of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, aims to support the implementation of the National Policy for Safe, Decent and Quality Employment 2012–2021. It promotes mechanisms to facilitate labour market entry, particularly through initiatives such as Workshop Schools and Employment Workshops, which combine training and practical work experience. • The Policy on Non-Formal (Extracurricular) Education, developed under the National Education Council

Countries with national goals for youth employment

Countries with national goals for youth employment
Yes

Additional information:
Guatemala promotes youth employment through several policies and programmes, most notably: • The National Policy for Decent Employment 2017–2032, whose general objective is to expand opportunities so that men and women in Guatemala can access decent and productive employment. This is pursued through an integrated approach combining economic and social policy, and the participation of both public and private sectors, with the goal of fostering inclusive and sustainable growth while reducing poverty and inequality, particularly among indigenous peoples, rural populations, women, and young people. • The National Youth Policy, which aims to ensure the full and dignified individual, community, social, and political development of Guatemalan youth. • The My First Job Scholarship Programme, which plans to support 1,000 young people in 2025 through employment scholarships. • The programme also includes job placement and intermediation services to connect young people with employers via the My First Job (Mi Primer Empleo) platform. • Technical training scholarships implemented by the Training and Education Section (SECAFOR) of the Ministry of Labour. • Job placement services linking young people with employers through the "Tu Empleo" platform. The Ministry of Education (MINEDUC): Through its training initiatives, MINEDUC has set a target to train 10,000 people, with the following focus groups: • 75% aged between 14 and 29 • 60% from rural areas • 50% women • 25% from indigenous communities • 5% persons with disabilities

Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment

Countries with quantitative targets for youth employment
Yes

Additional information:
The National Policy for Decent Employment (PNED) 2017–2032, aligned with the K’atun 2032 National Development Plan, sets quantitative targets focused on reducing unemployment and improving labour conditions, with special emphasis on youth and vulnerable groups. These targets include: • Reduce the youth unemployment rate from 2.4% (2016) to 1.5% (2032) • Reduce labour informality from 67.8% (2016) to 50% (2032) • Decrease the visible underemployment rate from 9.4% (2016) to 5% (2032) • Eliminate the percentage of workers living in extreme poverty from 20.1% (2014) to 0% (2032)

Policy areas in national youth employment strategies

Macroeconomic and Sectoral policies
Yes
Enterprise Development
Yes
Education, Training and skills development
Yes
Labour Demand
Yes
Labour Law and Legislation
Yes
Labour Market Policies
Yes
Other (please specify)
Yes

Social partners' inclusion in the youth employment strategy

Workers
Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
Not involved
Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
Fully involved
Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
Fully involved
Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
Consulted
Employers
Implementation of youth employment strategies/programmes (e.g. social partners as official implementers of the strategy or programme)
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Assessment of youth employability (alignment of youth qualifications and skills to labour market needs)
Consulted
Monitoring and evaluation of youth employment interventions (e.g. active labour market programmes)
Informed
Awareness raising, marketing and promotion of youth employment (e.g. campaign to promote youth employment)
Fully involved
Formulation of youth employment strategies (e.g. national action plan for youth)
Fully involved
Development of youth employment programmes (e.g. sectoral programme with a clear target to employ X number of youth)
Fully involved

Youth-led organizatios' inclusion in the national strategy

Fully involved
Yes
Partially involved (only for some elements of the strategy)
Yes
Consulted
Yes
Informed
Yes
Not involved
No

Countries with national partnerships for youth employment

Countries with national partnerships for youth employment
Yes

Additional information:
2025: Meetings have been held with multinational companies, chambers, guilds and business sector associations to promote public employment programmes and services that seek to promote youth employability, such as the My First Job Grant Programme. The National Programme of Workshop Schools and Employment Workshops, with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). National Youth Council (CONJUVE): Seeks to increase youth access to skills and qualifications training, guiding their insertion into the labour market with decent employment or through the entrepreneurial culture; collaborates with private companies to develop internships, conducts training workshops on business plans. 2024: What is the My First Job Grant Programme? It is one of the measures promoted by the Government of Guatemala in terms of youth employability, with a focus on the creation of labour skills, which seeks to have an impact on the labour market. What is its objective? To promote and support the hiring of young people from 18 to 24 years of age for a period of 4 months, as apprentices, for a specific trade through their performance and access to training developed by the same company. Who promotes this initiative? The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, through the Vice-Ministry of Labour Administration, with the support of the employer sector of the private initiative. Ministry of Economy. Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. Ministry of Education. Public-private alliances for INTECAP training. Alliances with Municipalities, strengthening VUMES. Foundations, grants awarded. Chamber of Commerce and Industry. CACIF. Trade Union Organisations. CONJUVE. -----------2 2023: Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare: The General Directorate of Employment maintains permanent alliances with the productive sector to support and implement various programmes and services that promote youth employment such as the "Beca Mi Primer Empleo" programme, The National Employment Service, Dual Education Programmes "Escuelas Taller" and other services that strengthen the employability of the youth population. Ministry of Economy: Ministry of Labour Ministry of Education Promotion of INTECAP trainings with private companies Partnerships Municipalities Foundations Chamber of Commerce and Industry Local associations and NGOs Partnership with GAN Contract with INTECAP MSMES Financing agreement with European Union ------------------------- 2022: The National Youth Council (CONJUVE) has established the following partnerships of “Coordination, logistics and calls for applications for Job Fairs” with : - Ministry of Labour and Social Security - Coordination of job fair events - National Registry of Persons -Accompaniment - Judiciary - Criminal records support - Ministry of the Interior - Access to Police Records Management Support - Chamber of Commerce The Technical Institute for Training and Productivity reports the following partnerships are established with the following entities: - Companies give INTECAP participants the opportunity to do their internships. In addition, some young people are given the opportunity to join the company as employees after completing their training. - Companies give INTECAP participants the opportunity to receive practical training according to the Dual Training model. In this case, some young people are also given the opportunity to join the company as employees after completing their training. - Central Government Institutions (Secretariats, Ministries): With these institutions, partnerships are made through Inter-institutional Agreements, which favour the training of young people and adults. As far as the General Directorate of Employment of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare is concerned, it communicates the following: Furthermore, inter-institutional technical working tables were established for the formulation of the National Policy on Decent Employment. The technical working tables aim to build an enabling space to influence the implementation of actions that promote decent employment for the Guatemalan population, which includes youth employment. Through the “Ventanillas Únicas Municipales de Empleo”( VUME), which operate in alliance with the municipalities, services of intermediation, orientation and labour promotion are developed, in addition to referring the user to education, training and entrepreneurship programmes. The Ministry of Social Development has established the following alliances: - Jorge R. Toruño Lizarralde S.J. Foundation for Education and Development (Public-Private partnership): The Ministry is in the process of incorporating young people proposed by this entity in companies to work as apprentices. - Technical Institute for Training and Productivity (Public partnership) : the Ministry has an agreement to give a motivational course called "Integral Personal Development -DPI-". - Jutiapa Chamber of Commerce (Public-Private partnership): Since 2016, the Ministry has been invited by this entity and has been working with companies in this subsidiary to incorporate young people into the formal labour market.

Inclusiveness of vulnerable groups in national strategies

Women
Yes
Migrant Workers
Yes
NEETs
Yes
People with disabilities
Yes
Low skilled workers
Yes
Rural workers
Yes
Other (please specify)
Yes

Youth employment strategies and international cooperation

Youth employment strategies and international cooperation
Yes

Additional information:
2025 European Union -Dignified Employment Programme. Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation -AECID-. 2024: ILO Office for Central America, Haiti, Panama and the Dominican Republic, the permanent mission in Guatemala, which provides a series of recommendations in the labour field, which the State of Guatemala complies with; likewise, it promotes dialogue between the tripartite parties that make up the organisation (employers, workers and member state). MINEDUC reports on the technical assistance provided by the following organisations: - International Labour Organisation - European Union - German Bank KFW _______________ 2023: Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare: European Union with the "Decent Work" programme. ILO with technical assistance. UNHCR with technical assistance and strengthening of human and physical resources for the care of refugees and asylum seekers. IOM with the strengthening of services focused on the returned migrant population. Swisscontact with the promotion of employment services. USAID, institutional strengthening for the provision of labour intermediation services abroad. UNFPA, technical assistance to strengthen the skills of employment managers and technicians. Ministry of Economy: A contract is in place through the financing agreement with the EUROPEAN UNION, for the implementation of the roadmap and contribute to strengthen the tripartite dialogue, among others. Ministry of Education: European Union: Technical assistance and equipment in the areas of technical training (gastronomy, mechanics, carpentry). -------------------------------------- 2022: The General Employment Directorate of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare for the National Policy for Decent Employment 2017-2032 has the support of : - The International Labor Organization –OIT- and Euro Social support the process developed by the Interinstitutional Technical Board –MTI- to advance the goals established in the four axes promoted by the National Policy for Decent Employment. They also support the strengthening of communication and joint inter-institutional actions to establish the national system of labor training (Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Economy). - The Spanish Cooperation, through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation –AECID-, finances the National Program of Workshop Schools that focuses on job training, which results in the promotion of job skills for job placement.