Lakeside Vocational Planning; Research, Development & Training
Brief History:
Prior to a meeting of eight people in May of 2014 there was an email discussion of what job
opportunities there were for youth, 13-25 years of age, in the lakeside area of Chapala region of
Jalisco. Often it appeared that outside persons were hired to come into the community due to
the lack of education or training of the locals to perform the tasks. Persons who were working
with this age group and those who had seen many youth not securing employment provided 3
areas of potential opportunities in the community. The areas chosen took into consideration
the population growth of retiring Guadalajarans and foreign ex-patriots as well as the tourist
population that frequent lakeside.
The group came together on May 9, 2014 to discuss what avenues might be viable for creating vocational opportunities for youth in the lakeside area.
The areas offered were: Hospitality (restaurants and hotels), Caregiver Services and Business
Management. The next step the group wished to take was to have those knowledgeable in
marketing to meet for the purpose of designing a strategy for moving forward. Initially, two
people came forward as the marketing committee for the purpose of researching what vocations
of training might be options for the lakeside area. Over the next five months two additional
people joined the marketing committee.
From the initial meeting in May two members of the committee, who have some knowledge of
sewing, were interested in teaching young people to sew. The general meeting group decided
this was more an artisan trade and would not be as helpful to the larger numbers of young
people in the area. The group supported the idea as an artisan vocation. The two members
began working with El corazon creativo with the desire to train young people in sewing. An
article of clothing was designed, has been made and has sold twelve over the last three months.
When a profit is realized, from this part of the vocational training, it will be used to train two
young sewers and support future seamstresses in training over the next year.
RESEARCH
The marketing committee worked from June through October 2014 designing two surveys. One
is geared for locals, ages 13-25. The survey asks ten questions from educational abilities, work
skill ability, pay scale and availability to training and locations of work. The second survey asks
ten questions of the local employers and covers educational needs of the employee, skills needed
for the positions, if the employer offers training for new employees and what they would be
willing to pay for a trained employee.
The marketing committee planned for youth between the ages of 13-25 years of age to
administer the survey for the local potential employees. They have canvassed the local private
schools for assistance. The marketing committee wanted all areas of lakeside to be considered
therefore, they decided they would use the plazas of each of the major villages along the coast;
Chapala, Ajijic, San Juan Cosala and Jocotepec to administer the surveys. The employer
survey will be administered to a pre-designated list of moderate to high end restaurants along
the lakeside area and will be completed by adults visiting the owners. A budget was set for the
employee survey. Letters were designed and delivered to local restaurants requesting their
support.
SHARING OF RESPONSIBILITIES
Butterflies en Mexico has provided incentives for a volunteer to research in the local area for a
restaurant and school that might be able to assist us for the implementation of the survey day or
days and also, printing of all the surveys needed for the project. El corazon creativo will supply
tables and chairs for plaza surveys and badges for volunteers on the day of the survey. An
individual of the marketing committee provided $400 pesos for signage (lonas) for the marketing
of the project and up to $160 pesos for the volunteer’s use of the bathrooms for the day. Another
individual provided $200 pesos for additional needed items for the project. Panino’s restaurant
has offered to sponsor the students and their adult supervisors with meals and beverages for the day of the implementation of the surveys.
This is the current brochure for the “Wings” clothing project. Click to access, new window opens.
Jan Manning and our Executive Director have been meeting over the last few months to discuss how we can begin forging forward with skill based training in a Textile Vocation.
is joining us as a partner and the Satellite Rotary E-Club of Lake Chapala has joined us as an affiliate.
Due to the great response from you and others in the community in the past we have a sewing machine, material and threads for the students to practice with. We will begin slowly with one or two students, ages 13-25 years of age. We have two designs and we are now ready to budget the cost of materials and how trainees will repay their supplies (this will enable any future trainee’s financial resources to be supported by those who have already benefitted from the program). We had the first item for sale the end of October 2014 and have just started making a profit.
Opportunity for Training:
The students will begin with being interviewed for the available positions. We believe that teaching them from the beginning that an interview process may be necessary for many positions. They will have a four hour training on the responsibilities and expectations of being an employee. We will teach and encourage the youth to look at ways they can market their new skills in the community as entrepreneurs. Students will practice newly learned employee skills while training in sewing skills. The students will be provided “incentives” (threads, scissors, etc.) for “homework” sewing projects and improvement in employee skills. As the student progresses they will be provided sewing opportunities which meet their skill level and will be able to increase their “incentives” for quality items they produce.
Because our instructor needs support in Spanish skills and we want students to give back to the program and we will be using another partner’s facilities here are some of the requirements.
Student Expectations:
Must attend a four hour basic employment training
Must have bilingual skills (Spanish and English)
Must have transportation to and from the lessons weekly
Must be committed to a 48 hour course (approximately 2 hours a week for 6 months) after the initial basic employment training
Be an honest and trustworthy individual
Be willing and able to train without compensation until skill levels allow for “quality” of product sewing
Be willing to purchase their own sewing supplies by contribution of their incentives or direct purchase as they progress through the program
Be prepared and willing to complete “homework” assignments outside of classroom learning
Volunteers Needed:
Two areas we need your support;
We are seeking a person to help with budgeting the item selected; cost of materials, cost of paying trainee incentives for quality item and resale percentage to retailer. We estimate this to take about 6-10 hours of the individual’s time who will work with the executive director during the first 3 weeks of January.
We are seeking 10 people who would be willing to donate $200 pesos each for the materials and tools needed for our second article of clothing for student work (March – June 2015). Approximately $2,000 pesos is needed.
Mariposa Project volunteers and supporters have always been responsive to the needs of the organization. We thank you for your consideration to this “start-up” project. Bernadine will be communicating with any individuals who are able to help with the two areas above in the next few months. Please contact her at: tattacbsj@gmail.com or Bernadine (Bernie) Janzen, Mariposa Project/Butterflies en Mexico, 387-761-0360.