Nine out of 10 teachers in Guatemala speak basic English, or known as level A1. This reality is part of the fact that every year, up to 10 thousand new positions are not filled in the Contact Center & BPO sector, which requires a minimum of a B1 level of English.
In this context, the Guatemala No Se Detiene initiative, the Contact Center & BPO sector of AGEXPORT and Entrepreneurs for Education, with the technical support of The Inter-American Dialogue and the co-sponsorship of Pearson, carried out a diagnosis so that the English that is taught from public to private institutes is focused on technical and professional programs to enter the workforce.
The study is titled “English for job placement in Guatemala”, delivered this Thursday, April 11 and for which surveys were carried out with diversified institutions, interviews with companies in the BPO sector, with authorities and leaders of the educational system.
The call of the organizations, through the document, is to implement a strategy to strengthen the teaching of the English language in the country, in which the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Economy, as well as include it in the work plans of these portfolios.
Specific recommendations are offered to improve job placement by strengthening English teaching. This includes reviewing and adjusting the CNB, implementing educational policies focused on improving the quality of English teaching, and encouraging greater collaboration between the education and business sectors.
Sarah Stanton, senior associate of the Inter-American Dialogue Education Program, in an interview with Prensa Libre shows that Contact Centers & BPOs each year have the potential to create 10,000 positions and do not meet the demand to fill them. Other sectors that also generate employment include hotels, hospitals, software development, tourism, construction, food, manufacturing, finance, etc. These could generate up to 15 thousand places a year.
Focus teaching on employment
“We observed that more than half of the institutions say that they are teaching English for employment, at the same time that they are teaching the general English of the National Base Curriculum (CNB), but the question remains about what resources they are using to “this teaching or what communication they have with companies, in the BPO sector or in other sectors to understand their demands and guide this teaching into English so that their students can get a good job after graduating,” explains Stanton.
Stanton adds that in the business sector there are clear guidelines on the hiring process for these positions. Many companies require a B1 or B2 level according to the common European language framework and in fact they have to invest in their own English programs or schools to be able to level these students.
One of the main benefits for students would be to leave diversified, with the knowledge of the level of English they have and not having to wait until they want to get a job to know if they have a satisfactory level or not.
On the other hand, teachers are also an important part of this diagnosis because we know that it will be very difficult to increase the English level of young people without having trained teachers. Stanton details that one of the long-term plans is to invest in initial training programs for English teachers and increase their knowledge of the language.
Increase investment
“A short-term recommendation is not to stop investing in English scholarship programs and look for ways to expand and strengthen them. Plans can be executed that do not involve doubling educational spending, but require finding allies who can also collaborate with the educational system,” explains Stanton.
One of the ideas that Stanton mentions that can be implemented or contextualized in Guatemala is the National Apprenticeship System (SENA) in Colombia, which is attached to the Ministry of Labor, the entity that leads all vocational training. This has sectoral working groups with companies in the country to determine what students have to learn in certain careers or specialties, including the English language.
Stanton adds that one of the strengths of Guatemala and that it is new, is that it is the first time that they have worked hand in hand with the business sector and with talent and human resource development programs such as Guatemala No Se Detiene, the commitment is seen. of these industries and these profiles not only in conversations, but also in the research process.
What does Guatemala’s English strategy include?
The document titled “English Study Report for job placement in Guatemala”
highlights the need for technical and professional preparation in English to access qualified jobs. It is organized as follows:
Economic context
- Need to generate employment for young people.
- Gap between job offers and preparation of young people, especially in English.
- Rapid evolution of technology and telecommunications, increasing productivity.
- Importance of English in sectors such as hotels, hospitals and BPO.
- Government plan to generate 200,000 jobs, requiring technological skills and command of foreign languages.
Educational Context
- Description of the Guatemalan educational system.
- Deficiencies in coverage and quality at the medium level.
- Low results in graduate tests and PISA evaluations.
National Policies
- National Base Curriculum (CNB) and National Decent Employment Program.
- Agreements and scholarship programs to strengthen English teaching.
- Need for adequate teacher training.
Challenges and Opportunities of English for Employment
- Demand for English in the BPO sector and difficulties in finding candidates with technical skills.
- Gaps in language skills.
- Strategies to improve the quality of English teaching.
Benchmark, conclusions and recommendations
- Comparative analysis with other countries.
- Best practices in English teaching and job placement.
- Review and adjustment of the CNB.
- Implementation of educational policies focused on improving the teaching of English.
- Promotion of collaboration between the educational and business sectors.
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