Sustainable Employment for Long-term Inclusion

In Colombia, we have experienced 3 waves of infections that have exhausted health personnel, and even the most robust and specialized medical machinery has broken down. According to a study by the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Colombia is among the worst countries in handling the pandemic, only 3% of the population is vaccinated, and the economic and social effects continue to affect the most vulnerable populations. It is important to note that adolescent mothers who enter the Juanfe live in extreme poverty, are in situations of vulnerability and exclusion and therefore the effects generated by the pandemic have been much more accentuated in this population.

Even though the pandemic has endured over time, we have learned many lessons that have helped us improve our work.

In response to the pandemic and the needs of the current labor market, the courses and workshops organized by the Office of Employment and Entrepreneurship have focused on topics related to strengthening skills, handling office tools, writing and spelling, as well as the reinforcement of soft and administrative skills, increasing employment opportunities for graduated adolescent mothers and improving their performance and the quality of the work provided. Furthermore, we have made great efforts to strengthen our alliances with companies and start with dual training, that is, theoretical-practical training, where our adolescent mothers learn while generating labor experience.

During the months of January to May:

• We managed 63 formal jobs for our teenage mothers and identified 237 new job openings.
• We were able to establish 131 commercial alliances with important companies in the country such as Crepes & Waffles, Hotel Estelar, Hotel Hyatt, Mall Plaza Shopping Center, Cotecmar, Oil Tanking.
• We carried out the Juanfe Tour 2021, an event that had the participation of 15 companies. The results were positive, we were able to create alliances with companies from the public and private sectors to carry out workshops to strengthen and obtain employment for our adolescent mother
• We started with dual training with the Hotel Hyatt Regency Cartagena, where 5 teenage mothers in the internship stage are in the training process, generating work experience, in order to enrich their knowledge and strengthen their skills.
• Carry out 3 courses with the participation of 89 adolescent mothers and 21 workshops with the participation of 323 adolescent mothers.

The planning and execution of activities in virtual training and in alternation have continued according to the evolution of the health crisis. For this reason, Juanfe has continued to manage through donations, electronic devices (Tablets / Cell phones) and has provided data plans, ensuring training and continuous support for our adolescent mothers.