In 2012, three out of ten young Colombians were left out of the educational system after obtaining their high school degree. Elevated tuition costs in private universities and difficult access to public universities make the reduction of this social inequality a great challenge. As a result, young people have low job opportunities, lower economic income, and low living conditions.
The program promotes agreements with the cities' main Universities and Technical Institutions, to provide Professional Technical programs (2 to 3 years). The training serves the interests of students, strengthens educational institutions and primarily the demands of the labor market. The project is developed with university teachers directly in the schools (k-11). The Professional Technical level is developed simultaneously in 10th and 11th grade, after the study day.
At the end of the technical training, students receive the support and tools they need to facilitate their employment process.
In 2012, only 3 out of 10 students in Manizales managed to access higher education. In 2020, 7 out of 10 students accessed this benefit.
The program is implemented in 76% of urban public schools in Manizales. We train approximately 1,600 students annually, corresponding to 50% of the city's 10th grade youth. This has been possible thanks to the significant contributions made by the alliance.
It is a cost-efficient solution. While a technical program costs USD $1,000 for a student under normal conditions, thanks to the fact that the alliance assumes exclusively the program’s direct costs, this value decreases to USD $380, which is covered by the foundation and other allies, so the students truly have free education.
Luker Foundation is transferring the model to 3 other cities in Colombia.
1. Identify technical training institutions or universities interested in developing massive low-cost programs.
2. Validate the needs of the productive sector and its openness to employ program students.
3. Manage allies interested in contributing financial resources.
4. Write to us: sisaza@funluker.org.co
