15-05-2024 | di COOPI

Ecuador. How to help Venezuelan migrants and Ecuadorian citizens find a job

As part of the second phase of the project "Integrados - Integration of Venezuelan Migrants and Refugees in Ecuador Phase 2: Ongoing support to provide protection services, job opportunities and access to decent living conditions to Venezuelan refugees and migrants” developed in consortium with AVSI and thanks to the support of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (BPRM), COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale implemented an employability program. The objective of the program, lasting 15 hours in total, was to strengthen participants' hard and soft skills, helping them redefine their employment goals through the knowledge, techniques, and tools analyzed during the course.

The course, held in Pichincha, Guayas, El Oro, and Manabí, covered topics such as Ecuadorian labor regulations, job skills, job interviewing, resumes, and job exchanges. At the end of the course, during the last week of April, 38 participants received their final diploma, marking the culmination of their vocational training: 11 in Pichincha, 6 in Guayas, 9 in El Oro, and 12 in Manabí. Among them, 12 people managed to find jobs: 3 in Pichincha, 1 in Guayas, 4 in El Oro, and 4 in Manabí.

Many participants stressed that the course was very engaging and informative, not only as a space for sharing experiences, but also for the relevance of the topics covered. One example is Noris Guillen, who commented:

The legal information we received during the course was the most interesting, because it is about topics I did not know, but also how to do a good interview helped me a lot in getting the job I have today. If I work at Nanny's Home it is solely because of COOPI.”

Christina Marcillo, happy with her own achievements, also told us:

The course was very comprehensive. We studied both the legislative aspects of the job and the various job skills. We were then taught how to approach interviews and what employers are looking for.” 

Christina is now employed as a psychology assistant at VEAC Medical Center, a center with which COOPI has had an agreement since 2020.

COOPI has been working in Ecuador since 1967, implementing development projects to help fight poverty and respond to emergencies, while respecting the principles of human rights, gender, interculturalism and governance. Projects implemented in the country cover intervention areas such as child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, infrastructure improvement, livelihood generation and socio-economic inclusion, governance and human rights, and socio-cultural integration.