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Bridging the Education Gap in Latin America

One in four young people in Latin America do not study or work. At the same time 55 percent of companies in the region report facing difficulties in recruiting skilled labor.

This gap is one of the main challenges facing the region. Latin America needs skilled young people to fuel vibrant new economic sectors and boost productivity if the region is to shake off a global economic slowdown and fully leverage the opportunities of globalization.

For the first decade of this century, Latin America experienced robust economic growth supported by trade, high commodities prices, and deepening domestic consumption. This growth created new opportunities for employment in manufacturing, services, and other sectors, drawing millions into the labor force and lifting people out of poverty. Yet many of the most attractive, skilled jobs remained unfilled in part because Latin America's universities were unable to keep pace with demand for skills.

According to a ManpowerGroup 2015 Talent Shortage Survey, around two thirds of employers surveyed in Brazil and Peru, and about half of employers in Mexico and Colombia, said they had trouble filling jobs, either because of a lack of candidates, or inability to find people with needed skills or experience.

Partnering with the Private Sector

Improving access to higher quality tertiary education and skills training is central to enhancing the region's productivity, spurring social inclusion and reducing inequality. With budget constraints limiting public resources for education, private education providers can plan an important role in increasing access to university education and vocational training, especially for working adults. They are showing new ways to scale up access to education at a reasonable cost.

Furthermore, private education providers are particularly effective at linking with industry to ensure workforce skills are aligned with the needs in the labor market.

There are interesting examples. In Colombia, where 3.2 million secondary-school graduates don't have the opportunity to go on to higher education, quality private education can generate an important social impact.

Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios (Uniminuto) works with industry and government to ensure programs are relevant to the needs of employers and graduates gain skills that are marketable in the workforce. More than half its programs are vocationally focused on key economic sectors, including agribusiness, hotel management, construction, web design, and occupational health. Uniminuto has 100,000 students in over 30 locations, including in rural areas, and is focused on making education available to students from all backgrounds by keeping tuition comparatively low and offering affordable financing options.

Aligning Skills and Demand

In Peru, Cibertec is one of the leading technical-vocational institutes with more than 14,000 students on six campuses. Run by Laureate, an international network of private universities, the institution started with a focus on information technology programs, but has expanded and developed programs in other areas like business, communications, and design.

Cibertec is a Cisco Learning Partner, a Microsoft Certified Solutions Provider, and a participant in Oracle's Workforce Development Program. The institute consults closely with leading employers to ensure its students are gaining skills that are aligned with the demands of Peru’s fast-growing economy.

Demand for higher education, both public and private, far outstrips current supply. Joint action between government policymakers, employers, and education providers is needed to increase opportunities for younger students and working adults alike, improving employability and yielding higher returns for investments in education.

By promoting greater access to tertiary education, the public and private sectors can work together to support Latin America’s productivity—a key factor in raising incomes and living standards—and competitiveness in the global economy.

• By Juliana Guaqueta Ospina, education specialist at IFC (International Finance Corporation). Ospina is an expert in public-private partnerships in education, investments in education technologies, vocational skills development, and quality of learning.
• This opinion piece was originally published in the Spanish newspaper El Pais.