Infrastructure and technical and socio-emotional skills, key to improving education for young people in Latin America
Young people are a key part of Latin America's recovery. Currently, 60% of young Latin Americans (15-29 years old) are out of school and one in five (23 million, of which 15 million are women) neither study nor work (NiNis). To advance this significant agenda of concrete returns in the long term, CAF - Latin America's development bank - is implementing a comprehensive education agenda dedicated to improving the region's well-being and competitiveness, focusing on the quality and relevance of learning.
In particular, in order to increase access to schools at the secondary level, CAF leads the financing of initiatives such as the New Educational Infrastructure Program in Ecuador, the Program to expand and modernise educational infrastructure in Panama and the Program to improve the quality of education in Jujuy, Argentina.
"These projects not only expand the supply of education, but also incorporate components aimed at improving the quality of learning through curricular and pedagogical review and adjustment, professional improvement of teachers and incorporation of technologies. By increasing the coverage and quality of education, we offer better opportunities to help build a better future for the region's youth," said Julián Suárez Migliozzi, CAF's Vice President for Sustainable Development.
CAF also finances other projects that support the creation, expansion and/or rehabilitation of infrastructure for technical and professional training such as the Instituto Técnico Superior Especializado (ITSE) and the INADEH's integral transformation plan, both in Panama, which seek to create a better training offer for young people from the technical and professional training fields. It also supports the university infrastructure programme in Argentina and the programme for the renewal of the Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences and Technology of the University of Panama, which provide higher education.
Through the publications "Policies to promote the completion of secondary education in Latin America and the Caribbean. Lessons from Mexico and Chile", which explores causes and possible policy options to counteract school dropout among young people; and "Technical Education and Vocational Training in Latin America and the Caribbean: Challenges and Opportunities", which identifies program and policy options implemented in Latin America to provide training and labor market insertion options for young people from technical education and vocational training; CAF also contributes to the generation of applied knowledge to promote the comprehensive development of young people based on the formation of their skills.
The mission of CAF - Latin American development bank - is to promote sustainable development and regional integration by financing public and private sector projects, providing technical cooperation and other specialized services. Established in 1970 and currently made up of 19 countries - 17 from Latin America and the Caribbean, along with Spain and Portugal - and 13 private banks, it is one of the main sources of multilateral financing and an important generator of knowledge for the region. More information at www.caf.com
