Mexico is among the OECD countries with the highest proportion of young people who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET). NEETs represent 22% of the young population, a figure well above the 15% average in the OECD. Additionally, within this group, the youth living in poverty (extreme and moderate), or vulnerability represent over than 87%.
To counteract this situation, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security created in 2019 the Youth Building the Future Programme, or Programa Jóvenes Construyendo el Futuro, with the goal to create the conditions for, at least, 2.3 million young people who have not participated in the economic productive process of Mexican society, to do so in an active manner. The programme also pursues deeper cultural changes: it is expected that having new opportunities, young people will perceive themselves as equals and that they can contribute to building a new Mexico, one that recognizes their abilities and includes them in a larger scale.
The programme focuses on a model of social co-responsibility between public, private, and social sectors aimed at offering young people a space, support, and structured activities to develop or strengthen work habits and technical skills that promote social inclusion and increase their chances of future employability. The target population is people between 18 and 29 years old, who are not in education, employment, or training.[1] A digital platform[2] was set up to bring together unoccupied youth to link them with companies, shops, SMEs, businesses, social organisations, public institutions, and any source of training, where job offerings close to their place of residence are posted, thus initiating the employment process. The Mexican government provides young people with a monthly payment of MXN $4,310 (US$ 215) and can participate in the programme for up to one year. In addition, while they are in training, they will be provided with health, maternity, and occupational accident insurance as well as other benefits.
Since its beginning until August 15, 2020, 1,472,101 youth have had been part of the programme, yet less than half of that group graduated (627,838). At the end of the first trimester of 2021, 328,780 young people have become part of the programme by working/training in 354,596 verified labour centres – and by the end of the year, it is expected to have half a million youth being part of the programme –. Of these, 58.8% (193,389) are women, 41.2% (135,390) men, and 1,077 young people with disabilities. The programme reports that 10% of participants have primary education completed, 26% basic secondary education completed (secundaria), 26% secondary education completed (bachillerato and preparatoria), 17% technical school education, and only 4% have higher/tertiary education completed. It is noteworthy that 54% of the women who graduated from the programme were occupied with childrearing and domestic labour before participation. Most participants enter the programme when they are 19 years old; however, the distribution of starting ages of the participants is mostly even.
To offer a successful transition from on-the-job training (where they gained experience, good work habits, and diverse talents and skills) to obtaining a job, to self-employment, to individual or collective entrepreneurship, or to the resumption of studies, the "Month 13" (Mes 13) strategy was launched in January of 2020."Month 13" is not an extension of the programme. It offers alliances with other public programmes so that graduates can carry out personal projects. Some of these programmes are "Tandas para el Bienestar" and "Programa Sembrando Vida", both directed to support entrepreneurship.
During 2020, to face the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security introduced changes to the programme. Since May of 2020, virtual courses and seminars are implemented to train young people and tutors of the programme within the National Healthy Distance Period (Jornada Nacional de Sana Distancia), which extended from March until June of 2020. The new virtual courses and seminars were aimed at young people who had lost their jobs, as well to businesses affected by the pandemic.
Further reading:
- ECLAC, “Youth building the future”. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Labour and Productive Inclusion Programmes Database website. Accessed from https://dds.cepal.org/bpsnc/programme?id=171 in May 2021.
- ECLAC, “Strengthening of the "Youth Building the Future Program”” Social protection measures to confront COVID-19 Database. Accessed from https://dds.cepal.org/observatorio/socialcovid19/en/fichamedida.php?id=264 in May 2021.
Footnote
- In order to join the programme, applicants must: 1) be between 18 and 29 years old at the time of registration; 2) not hold a job or be studying; 3) register in the Digital Platform or other mechanism (Servidores de la Nación), or visit the offices designated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (STPS) to submit the required information and documentation; 4) sign a letter of commitment, in which the person accepts in writing the guidelines of the programme and other provisions that apply to them; 5) authorize the processing of personal data in accordance with current regulations on the matter. The applicant must meet each of the requirements so as not to be rejected.
- See [online] https://jovenesconstruyendoelfuturo.stps.gob.mx/login/.