Project information

StatusFinalist
URLGo to website
CategoryEducation
Training and practice
CountryMexico
Operational areasUrban
Target groupsYouth, Women, Men
Fixed connectionDSL, Cable
Wireless connectionWiFi
Access pointsTelecenter
InteractLandline Phone, Desktop Computer, Laptop
Software License TypesProprietary

Project location

Random images Challenge 2008

Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Technologies in the Americas (POETA)

  • Brief description
  • More than 50 million people in Latin America suffer from some form of disability and 80% of those persons are unemployed and consequently live in poverty.  The Trust is combating this problem by providing critical skills to this marginalized population.  In 2004, the Trust for the Americas, a non-profit affiliate of the Organization of American States (OAS), established the POETA (Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Technology in the Americas program.  POETA is a hemisphere wide initiative to fight poverty, increase social inclusion and improve competitiveness by providing technology and job-readiness training to persons with disabilities and other marginalized populations including youth at risk.  Through a combination of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Adaptive Technologies, POETA provides persons with disabilities who, in many cases, were previously housebound, with the necessary skills and the opportunity to apply for and hold a job, earn a living, and become more independent.
  • Vision, Objectives and Goals
  • The primary goal of POETA is to use ICT to enhance the development of every member of the community.  Persons with disabilities and youth at risk are fully capable of being productive and efficient contributors to the workforce if given fair access to that opportunity.  Trainings and workshops have been received by the target populations in each country and are geared to give participants practical experience and solutions to real-world problems.  The program is designed to help develop the beneficiaries’ technical expertise, thus improving their self-esteem and confidence that they can succeed.  Currently, the Trust has 39 centers in the following Latin American countries: Argentina, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, México, Panamá, Perú and Venezuela.   In its first year of operations, POETA had unprecedented success. It trained more than 2,360 people with disabilities and at risk youth in ICT and job readiness skills in Guatemala, from which 60% obtained a job.  Each year, The Trust broadens existing programs and creates new POETA centers, making these essential skills and job training available to an increasingly broader population.  Currently, The Trust is expanding the POETA program to the Eastern Caribbean to serve the large population of youth at risk for gang involvement, unemployment and crime.  By mid-2008, POETA will train 50,000 participants in 50 centers across the Americas.
  • How does ICT contribute to the organisational objectives
  • ICT is essential to the organizational objectives of POETA.  Through the program model we have created, disadvantaged youth and adults are given the tools to create their own business or enter the job market through comprehensive computer and internet training.  Communications technology and the Internet is the core of the program.  For marginalized populations, practical technology skills are an opportunity for a fundamental life change.  With simple and relatively low cost adaptive technologies, computers provide people with disabilities with the skills to compete for service jobs, which have previously been out of their reach.  These jobs include: data-entry, telephone and in-person customer service jobs and other positions principally involving computer skills.  With the help of our partner Microsoft, ICT is the tool the POETA program leverages to empower vulnerable persons in Latin America.
  • Transferability
  • As discussed in the “Economics” section, the POETA program is based on a model which makes it easily replicable and open to new partnership opportunities with different organizations and institutions.  The Trust has used this method for successfully establishing 39 different POETA centers across Latin America.  In order to replicate the program, the Trust does due diligence to identify trustworthy and reputable local partner organizations, often sending a staff member to the location for several months at a time.  These local partners are experts in the specific needs of the local target population, allowing POETA to most accurately identify and involve them.  Additionally, POETA partners with various private and public sector organizations.  For example, the POETA program in Cartagena, Colombia has formed a partnership with the local educational institution, the Universidad Tecnológica de Bolivar, leveraging technical expertise and training skills to aid the local POETA center.  Local governments often support POETA programs, but their involvement is not essential to the success of the program. As shown through each new POETA center, at least one local partner non-governmental organization is vital to the success and transferability of the program.
  • Project summary

  • More than 50 million people in Latin America suffer from some form of disability.  80% of those persons are unemployed and a corresponding 80% to 90% live in poverty.  Disability, either physical or mental, is consequently the single most important indicator in determining the socio-economic status of an individual in Latin America.  POETA gives this underserved and forgotten population an opportunity through technology and job readiness skills training and the shaping of public awareness.  With cash and in-kind donations from Microsoft, along with other donors, The Trust has been able to leverage ICT to most effectively help this marginalized population.  POETA is changing lives and contributing to the socio-economic development of many Latin American countries.